Individuality
by Nightbigail
Summary: This is the tale of the inconspicuous girl who is always running into trouble while meeting a cast of heroes, villains, and familiar faces... And the local vigilante group that is full of nutjobs. *ᴛʜɪꜱ ꜱᴛᴏʀʏ ᴛᴀᴋᴇꜱ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ 1 ʏᴇᴀʀ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇᴠᴇɴᴛꜱ ᴏꜰ ꜱᴇᴀꜱᴏɴ 1!*
1. Onishi Rin: Origins

"You got into another fight? Your behavior is unacceptable!" Mom screamed. She slammed the letter my teacher sent to her onto the kitchen table. I just sat there silently while Dad rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"This is the third time you've done this! Enough is enough! You're going to junior high next year, and you're still acting like a child!" she bellowed. She began pacing back and forth in frustration. "I can't believe this!"

Dad grabbed the wrinkled letter in front of me. His eyes scanned the page. After a minute or so, he placed the letter back down and sighed in disappointment.

"You can't keep acting like this," he spoke solemnly. "You need to think of your sister and set a good example."

Hearing those words boiled my blood. It made me so angry that my hands started shaking. I couldn't believe he had the audacity to say that!

"I am," I said through my teeth.

Mom immediately turned to me.

"You think getting into fights is setting a good example?"

"Maybe it is!" I snapped. "She doesn't do anything. She just sits there and lets people walk over her like she's nothing!"

"You better watch your tone," Dad warned. He was beginning to get mad.

"You guys don't know what she goes through at all," I said bitterly. "All the kids at school make fun of her for not having a quirk, even the older ones!"

"Don't say that. The doctor said she is a late bloomer," Mom replied pathetically.

"That's a lie, and you know it!" I retorted. "Just admit it; she's quirkless!"

The previously enraged look on her face fell. Instead, a guilty expression appeared. She looked away from me. She looked hurt. Even so, I continued to let all my anger out.

"The punk deserved it. I don't regret my decision at all," I said proudly. I turned to Dad, who was staring at me with grim eyes.

"You said that I need to think of my sister, right?" I repeated. "Well guess what? I did. I always am. Everything I do is for her!"

My parents didn't say anything back. Seeing that, I stood up from my seat. I swiped the stupid letter on the table and crumbled it up with my hands. Chucking it on the ground, I crushed it with my foot and stormed to my room. Once getting up there, I slammed the door as hard as I could.

I was trembling with rage. I was so angry that I didn't know what to do. I wanted to punch someone. I wanted to set everything on fire. I wanted everyone at my school to die.

Letting out a cry, I kicked the chair at my desk onto the floor. It fell loudly. Outstretching my hands, I slung the books and the pencil holder on my desk off. After that, I marched over to my backpack that was on the floor and threw it at the wall. The picture of the photo my family took when we went to Kyoto last year crashed down. I heard the sound of glass shattering but at this point, I was too angry to care. I continued to wreak havoc for a while until I felt tears in my eyes. When I did, I flopped face-down on my bed.

They're all stupid! They don't understand a single thing! No one does.

"I hate everyone," I sniffed.

I felt water trickle down my sweaty face. My hot tears soaked into my mattress. I cried for a little bit until I heard a gentle knock at my door.

"Go away!" I choked.

The figure in front of my door stopped knocking. I thought they went away so I continued to cry to myself, but then the door creaked opened.

"I told you to go away!" I shouted, sitting up with watery eyes. I stop upon seeing that Rin was peeking behind the door with her usual deadpanned look on her face.

Rin was a bit different from other kids. It's not only because she doesn't have a quirk but also that she isn't very expressive. Other 7-year-olds would probably kick or cry if they're getting bullied but Rin doesn't do anything. She just sits there quietly with that blank expression while they push her around. I never understood why she never asked for help or fought back. It annoys me but at the same time, it's probably because she knows she can't do anything without her quirk and knowing that makes me upset.

Rin stepped inside softly closing the door shut. She casually walked over to me and stopped at the foot of my bed.

"Are you crying?" she asked bluntly.

With my face growing hot, I quickly wiped away any remaining tears in my eyes.

"N-no..."

She stared at me for a moment. Reaching into her pockets, she pulled out a piece of tissue and held it out to me.

"I told you that I wasn't crying!" I repeated. "Put that away!"

Ignoring my obvious lie, she climbed onto my bed and reached over to wipe my eyes but that just made me cry even more. I sat there with tears streaming down my face as she tried her best to wipe them away.

"Oniichan, you're crying too much. I can't get all the tears," she said with a hint of frustration.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm crying way too much," I croaked. I gently pushed her hand aside and wiped my face on my sleeves. I let out a tired sigh.

"I heard you get yelled at," she said quietly. "You got in trouble because you beat up the big kid that made fun of me."

"He kept on saying mean things about you so I beat 'em," I replied simply.

I waved my hand in reassurance.

"Don't worry about it. I scared him off so he won't be coming near you anymore."

"Oh, okay..." she mumbled.

Rin wasn't an easy person to read, but I was able to tell that she was upset. Seeing that, I questioned her about it.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Rin's gaze floated over to the side. It looked like she was thinking of what to say next.

"...You got in trouble again...because of me," she replied in guilt. "You should stop beating up kids who bother me so you don't get yelled at anymore."

"I don't care if I get in trouble," I said. "If they mess with you, they mess with me. Besides, I gotta watch out for you since..."

I stopped myself from saying the next word. If Mom and Dad were already sad that I called her 'quirkless', then how is Rin going to feel? She's going to feel worse!

Rin stared at me in anticipation. She was waiting for me to finish what I was saying.

"...since you don't have your quirk yet," I cautiously finished. "Until you get it, which I say pretty soon, I'll be your quirk."

Rin tilted her head in confusion.

"You're going to be my quirk?" she asked.

I patted the top of her head tenderly.

"Yep! So if anyone of those bullies come back to tease you, just call me over and I'll take care of them!"

She looked down bashfully.

"You're just like a hero..." she said.

I pointed to myself confidently with a wide grin on my face.

"That's right! I'm your hero!" I announced proudly. "My name even sounds like 'hero', too!"

"'Hiro'..." she muttered. Then, she looked back at me with a dazzling look in her eyes with a small smile curling up on her lips.

I let out hearty chuckle trying to imitate All Might's iconic laugh. Putting on a giant smile, I said,

"It's fine now! Why? Because I am here! Your big brother is here to protect you!"

**I promise.**

* * *

**I do not own My Hero Academia, so pls dont sue me thx**


	2. The Phenomenon of Man

If there's one thing I've realized from all the years I've been alive, it's that people with strong quirks are privileged. Now, I don't mean to get all preachy on you but I'm just saying that people with quirks often abuse their power and to be honest probably won't be able to live life without them. They take their God-given powers for granted. They think that just because they were gifted with inhuman abilities that they can go around wreaking havoc and do as they please without anyone's concern for others. Don't they know that some people just want to live a normal life?

I was lying face down on the ground. I can smell the scent of fire in the air. It rushed up into my nose and down my throat making my chest tighten. Every breath I took made me want to cough. Tears stung my eyes making it hard to see. It felt like my eyes were burning. I can hear the muffled cries of civilians screaming for help with their footsteps vibrating beside me scurrying away to safety. There also was a high-pitched ringing in my ears. I can hardly make out the voices that were zooming past me.

"It's a villain!"

"Run!"

"Call the heroes!"

A villain attack? Oh, yeah... That's right. I remember now. I was on my way home from school after buying some comics for Hiro...

"Hey, Coconut Head! Come 'ere."

I turned around to see that I was face to face with Bakugo, an egotistic classmate of mine who liked teasing kids with weak quirks. Behind him were his two friends who equally took part in his antics. They looked pretty suspicious since they were hiding in the dark alleyway that was beside me. Add on the snarky grin on their faces, and they almost looked like they just finished committing arson or some other crimes teenagers do.

"Coconut Head...?" I muttered to myself as I heard his friends chuckle.

That was a new name. In 7th grade, he just called me "nerd". And yes, if you were wondering, I did get bullied by Bakugo. It lasted only for a month though. I think it was because he thought my reactions were too bland. But that didn't stop him from ridiculing me every chance that he got.

"I know you were listenin' to our conversation," he accused, getting his face into my personal space.

I uncomfortably leaned away to put some distance between us.

"...You mean when you were in the classroom after school with the quirkless kid?" I said, trying not to look at him in the eyes.

"Obviously. What else would I be talkin' about?" he said, getting even closer to me. His two friends behind him chuckled in amusement.

As all bullies do, Bakugo has a favorite victim that he likes to tease. His name is Midoriya. I sat behind in class last year. He's a nice guy despite being berated by Bakugo and ignored by his classmates all the time. One time he lent me his history notes because I forgot to study before the test. I still failed, but it was the thought that counts, right?

The reason why he gets rained on all the time is that he doesn't have a quirk. In a world full of superpowers, he happened to be one of the unfortunate 20% of the population that didn't manifest a quirk. Even so, I heard that he wants to be a hero. I guess that annoys Bakugo for some reason, so that's why he's always picking on him.

I peered up at Bakugo to see his angry eyes staring at me.

"Yep. I was," I replied honestly. "And uh, you wanted to be a hero right? Threatening the quirkless kid isn't very hero-like-"

An ignition from his left hand exploded interrupting my sentence. A threatening smile appeared on his face.

"What would you know about being a hero?" he sneered. "I've never even seen you use your quirk."

"Well, that's because we're not allowed to use our quirks at school-"

"Shut up!" He barked, letting out another blast from his hand. "I didn't ask you!"

His friend with the John Lennon haircut let out a snort.

"Oi, Bakugo, you should go easy on her. It looks like she's about to pee herself."

Well, I did need to pee so he isn't exactly wrong about that.

Bakugo let out a snicker.

"Heh. Damn loser. Scared of a little fire?" he taunted. "Say, since we're outta school, why don't you show us your quirk?"

His friends immediately approved that idea as a mischievous grin crossed their faces. They all stared at me expectedly. Turning a bit uncomfortable, I said,

"You're not supposed to use your quirk in public places," I replied, trying to getaway. "So, if you don't mind, I'm gonna head home."

I attempted to make my escape when he grabbed me by my arm. He yanked me into the alleyway and slammed me against the wall, in an unromantic way. Don't let your fantasies get to your heads, dear reader.

"Where do you think you're going?" Bakugo said, wearing a fake smile on his face. "I said, 'Why don't you show us your quirk?' Unless..."

His friend with the ruffled hair that was shimmering with hair gel joined in on the fun.

"Ha? Don't tell me she don't have one!" he exclaimed.

The kid with the John Lennon hair snickered.

"Seriously? We have two cripples at our school?"

The two of them erupted into laughter as the grin on Bakugo's face grew more threatening. I was beginning to sense that I was getting deeper and deeper into trouble.

Now you may be wondering, why aren't I do anything? Why don't I defend myself? In other stories, you'll usually see the main character talk back to him with a witty remark that boils his blood which somehow leads the two into a very passive-aggressive romance. But you see, I'm not that type of character. I get tired easily. Bakugo's energy drains me. I'm more of a pacifist; I don't like conflict. Besides, I wouldn't want to get in a fight with him. With his explosive quirk and my unknown power, it's almost definite that it's gonna get messy.

Let me clarify something before you start jumping to conclusions. When I say "unknown power", it's not in a "super strong hidden quirk that will immediately pulverize buildings and break my bones every time I use it" kind of way. It's more like "I literally have no idea what my quirk is".

I know I have one. My parents even brought me to the doctor to make sure that I had that extra joint in my pinky toe. But it's been nearly ten years since and I still haven't found out what my quirk is or even how to activate it. So in essence, I've basically been quirkless my entire life. I've even gone as far as thinking that maybe my quirk is being quirkless. It seems kinda sad if an outsider were to look into it, but it's totally fine. I've survived this long without it, so who says I can't live out the rest of my life without ever using my quirk? I'm not gonna lie though, sometimes I wish I can use it to make people leave me alone. I tend to be a walking magnet that attracts trouble wherever I go. But it is what it is, and I'm stuck with the cards I was dealt with.

I attempted to walk away from the situation again.

"Can I go home? I need to deliver these comics to my brother," I said, with my voice unwavering.

I guess something good about getting into conflict all the time is that you become used to it. At first, I was terrified with every fight I got dragged into but now it's just pestering.

Bakugo peered down at the shopping bag that was in my hands.

"Oh? You mean these?"

He grabbed it from my hands and proceeded to set them on fire with his quirk as his friends urged him on.

He's messing around more than usual. Usually, he'll just insult me or hit me with his shoulder and walk off but he's going as far as burning the new comics I bought? Before I saw this as a minor inconvenience but now I was actually getting annoyed. Hiro is gonna give me crap for ruining his comics that he lent me money to buy for him. I can already hear him complaining. At times like this, I wish that my stupid quirk would come out already.

"...Why would you do that?" I muttered in distaste. Bakugo carelessly threw the charred comics onto the ground like it were trash.

"Because I can," he retorted. "And I'll do that to you if you tell anyone about this."

Gosh, dealing with Bakugo is like talking to a spoiled 5-year-old who had way too much candy. He really thinks he can do anything since he has a strong quirk, huh? Doesn't he know that there are ways of using it without disturbing the peace?

"Let's scram," Bakugo announced. To add some extra salt to the wound, his John Lennon friend spit on the charred comics. His friends laughed. But that's when I saw a stream of sludge slither across my shoes.

It was only for a split second, but I saw it. His friends did too because they stopped laughing. Their eyes widened and they backed away in fear.

"Hey, look..." They both said in unison.

Behind Bakugo was a muddy figure looming over him. It looked like slime. I smelled the scent of dirty sewage.

"An invisible cloak with a great quirk!" It exclaimed. It opened its mouth preparing to engulf Bakugo, as he stood there with an expression of shock, anxiety, and anger. Then it attacked.

A fistful of fire exploded from Bakugo's hands as he directed it toward the sludge monster. I shielded myself in an attempt to block myself from his explosion and the villain's attack. I expected to feel the impact but I didn't. I felt a hand push me out of the alley and into the street. Next thing I know, I'm on the floor as fire and terrified people surround me.

Damn you, Hiro. Why do I always end up in trouble when I'm running errands for you?

My ears stopped ringing now. I can hear a familiar voice a few feet away from me along with the wicked laughter of the sludge monster.

"A child was taken hostage?!" A voice exclaimed. "You coward!"

It can't be me; I know how being a hostage is like. Then if it isn't me, it must be...

I looked behind me to see that a muscular hero with meaty hands trying to punch the sludge monster. Inside the monster was a certain spiky-haired boy struggling to escape.

**It's Bakugo.**

The rest of the heroes came sprinting over when the hero trying to attack the villain was slammed away. The villain proceeded to go on a rampage attacking any heroes who tried to get close to it with its slimy arms. Meanwhile, Bakugo was trying his best to resist getting swallowed into its body.

How long has he been like that? I'm shocked that he hasn't been eaten yet. If I were in his situation, I probably would've given up. Although I didn't really like Bakugo, I almost wished I was in his position instead. I've grown accustomed to villain attacks and had my fair share of being held, hostage. At least I know I wouldn't be so afraid. I know he will never admit it, but I knew that he was scared. I also knew that he would never admit to pushing me out into the street. Because of that, I began to feel bad for him.

I was so busy staring at the scene in front of me that I didn't realize that a branch was wrapping around my body. Within a flash, it dragged me away just as Bakugo erupted the entire place in explosions.

I was thrown into a nearby building with people who were watching the events unfold above. The hero who saved me, Kamui Woods, didn't even have time to acknowledge me since he was running back into the scene to rescue more civilians. There were a lot of heroes on the scene: some were rescuing people, others were trying to put out the fires, and there was a handful trying to free Bakugo from the villain's clutches. It was no use though; they couldn't do anything. The situation was getting worse by the second. Some high school girls started crying. A guy behind me was recording the entire thing with his phone. Everyone was in a panic, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I guess a negative thing about being involved in villain attacks all the time is that when you're finally not a part of it, then you feel guilty for not being involved. It's strange. Just knowing that these people are experiencing an attack for the first time and knowing how scared they are, makes a small pit form inside my stomach. Wouldn't it be better to have someone who's used to a situation be in that situation rather than having a newcomer experience it?

**At times like this, I wish that my stupid quirk would come out already.**

"Idiot! Stop!" A voice suddenly exclaimed from below.

My eyes immediately snapped onto a kid around my age going full throttle toward the villain. He had unruly green hair and wore the standard gakuren uniform from my school. His face screamed "terror" yet he kept on running. The heroes were all caught off guard by this and hardly had any time to react to such a bold move. The people around me gasp in a mixture of shock and horror.

"Die in a fiery explosion!" the villain cried, preparing to attack. I'm not sure whether it was in a panic or he planned it out, but the kid flung his backpack at it momentarily blinding the monster. That loosened its hold on Bakugo and the boy proceeded to free him.

"Kacchan!" he screamed.

Wait a minute... Kacchan? Did he just say Kacchan?

It was a bit hard to see up here due to all the smoke that blocking the view, but I squinted hard at the figure that was desperately clawing at the sewage.

"...Why.." I breathed in awe. "Why is Midoriya here?"

I placed my hands on the building's wall leaning down in anticipation. I wanted to get a better view of what was happening but it was getting harder to see with all the smoke buildup.

Something that I don't get is why Midoriya's helping him. It's not unnatural to try to help someone in need but he was trying to save Bakugo, the guy who tormented him for being quirkless. Honestly, if I were him, I wouldn't know what to think. Despite all the things Bakugo put him through, he's still willing to run out and save him.

**Despite not having a quirk, he moved.**

_"One thing that defines a hero is their ability to respond to cries of help without hesitation."_

With a flash, I watched the number one hero rush in and defeat the villain with the swipe of his fist. The villain was instantly pulverized. A spiral of air shot up near me, and I had to hold onto the railing to stop myself from being blown away. After a second or two, rain began to fall.

"Gosh..." I muttered, as everyone watching erupted in cheers.

I was tired from going through and witnessing all the excitement but I was also in shock from the turn of events. Bakugo was held hostage, Midoriya ran out to save him, and All Might came. Most of all, I was moved, which shocked me. I always thought of myself as a relatively apathetic person who was just existing to exist. I had no purpose.

**I am... here.**

I held my hand to my forehead in a mixture of weariness and disbelief.

"Who knew the quirkless kid had it in him?" I said to myself, cracking a small smile.

Although I didn't know it yet at that time, something was beginning to spark within me. I felt it only for a moment when I witnessed the brave acts of a quirkless kid that I hardly knew, but it was there. As the year continued to pass, that feeling was only growing stronger.

And one day, it erupted.


	3. Fast and Furious

I've never been in a taxi before. I see them all around the streets but I've never gotten the chance to ride in one. Dad says that taxis are way too overpriced and that it's better to take the bus or the train, but I disagree. The last time I took the bus, a giant villain picked it up and threaten to fling the vehicle and everyone inside to oblivion. I fell through the window, but it turned out fine since a hero with a flying quirk caught me. He was a pretty famous hero too; I think his name was Hawks or something.

Meanwhile, the train is way too crowded for my liking. Besides, there tends to be an abundance of teenage girls riding the train lately. I think it's because there's some cute boy with peppermint hair they're all crushing on. One time, I took the empty seat that was next to him and all the girls in the vicinity stared me down like they wanted to rip my throat out. I sat next to him on several occasions. It's not that I'm interested in him or anything. It's just that there always happens to be an empty seat beside him. Also, I don't get why one of those girls just sit next to him if they like him so much; they all get on the train before I do. I told one of the girls that, and she ratted my ears out. Anyway, that's not my problem anymore since I quit riding the train because all the girls hate my guts.

Since I don't take the bus or the train, I walk to and from school. It can get a bit tedious at times since I'm more prone to getting mugged by some thug, but at least heroes will be able to get on the scene quicker since I'm out in the open. However, today I decided to change things up a bit. I decided to take the taxi home from school.

And Dad was right. Taking the taxi is overpriced.

I sat in the back seat of the car as the driver made his way to the supermarket.

Mom told me to grab some tomatoes for her on my way home from school. She probably was going to attempt to make lasagna again. Last time, it didn't turn out so well. It came out looking completely black.

I stared out the window in a daze. I watched as cars zoomed beside us.

The taxi stopped at a red light, and I found myself staring at the driver in the car in the other lane. We made eye contact. It was awkward, so I looked away. I looked out the front window instead to stare at the traffic light. As I did, I noticed a Midoriya walking across the street.

After the sludge incident, Bakugo hasn't really been teasing him anymore. In fact, he's stopped teasing others too, myself included. I wonder if the whole hostage situation and being saved by the quirkless kid he bullied got to his head. Not that I'm complaining though. It was peaceful at school since he wasn't bugging Midoriya every hour.

The light turned green. The taxi driver immediately honked at the car in front of us even though it's literally only been 2 seconds. Unfortunately, the traffic happened to be really bad at this hour, and the vehicle only inched forward a bit before having to stop again. I heard the cab driver mutter some not very PG things under his breath.

I wonder if I should just get out. It might be faster.

Just as I thought that I heard the rumbling of thunder. Within a minute, everything went gray and it started downpouring like k-drama rain. Civilians walking outside all rushed undercover to escape the rain. I noticed a lady with an unbelievably huge stomach hurriedly made her way over to the taxi. She tried opening the door but it was locked. Her eyes glanced up at me. She pointed at the driver.

"Uh, there's a lady that wants to come in," I informed the driver.

Without a word, he unlocked the car doors. The woman flung the door open and jumped inside slamming the door shut behind her. She was soaking wet. The driver seemed to notice, and he gave her a dirty look for ruining the seats. With an irritated tone, he asked her where she was heading. She told him that she was heading toward Wren Inc, the place where rich people go to.

The light turned green again, and the vehicle started moving again. But something was wrong.

"Um, that's not the way to the grocery store," I awkwardly remarked.

"I know. I'm going to Wren Inc," he gruffly said.

I didn't say anything back to him and leaned in my seat.

I noticed that the lady next to me was wearing quite expensive clothing, which was obviously dripping wet now. In her lap was a Gucci handbag. Around her wrist were a gold bracelet and a huge watch. She wore a black faux fur coat with shiny leather boots. On her finger was a ring with the largest diamond I've ever seen in my life.

Oh. So that's why the taxi driver is going to Wren Inc. This lady's rich.

My eyes gazed down at her round belly.

And extremely pregnant. It looked like her belly was ready to burst.

The rich lady caught me staring at her stomach, and she gave me a haughty frown.

"I know what you're thinking," she spoke. "You're thinking, 'This woman is extremely pregnant. It looks like her belly is ready to burst.'"

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat hugging my backpack to my chest.

How the heck did she manage to say the exact words in my head? Was it by chance?

"And now you're thinking about how I was able to repeat what was exactly in your mind," the woman spoke.

Again? Now, this is just creepy...

"It's not creepy!" she exclaimed, slamming her fist on the car seat.

I scooted away from her cautiously.

"It kind of is," I said. "Is it your quirk?"

The woman folded her arms.

"Of course it is. How else was I able to repeat what you thought?" she replied simply. She winced to herself and placed her hand on her belly.

"Is it kicking?" I asked, peering over.

"Don't say 'it'. The baby's a boy. Say 'he'."

"Is he kicking?" I repeated.

"Yes, yes it is," she replied.

"You called the baby 'it' even though you just said not to call the baby that."

"Oh, shush!" she scoffed. "I'm new to this whole thing!"

"Is that-er, is _he _your first kid?" I questioned.

"Yes. And he's been giving me hell," she said tiredly. "It's only going to get worse."

That didn't sound very mother-like.

"I know it didn't sound mother-like!" the woman snapped, reading my mind again. "In actuality, I'm just...a bit concerned about what's going to happen."

"So, you're scared?" I blurted.

"No!" she barked. "Why would I be scared?"

"Because that's your first kid," I said. "I think it's fine to be scared over something like this. Raising a child is hard."

The woman pouted and looked the other way.

"I'm not scared."

She's totally scared.

Immediately upon thinking that, she glared at me.

"I told you, I'm not scared!" she said. "Why would I be afraid of Junichi?"

"Junichi? Is that the name of your baby?" I asked.

The woman gazed down at her belly, with a soft look overcoming her face. She rubbed her belly.

"Yes. Junichi's his name."

That was oddly wholesome. I thought rich people hated children.

The woman didn't bother to comment on my thoughts. Instead, she gazed at my school uniform and said,

"You must be in junior high."

"Yeah. I'm in 9th grade," I replied. I peered over at her lavish clothing again. "And you must be rich. I know rich people go to Wren Inc, but why are you going there?"

"My husband owns it," she casually said. Turning a bit pink, she said, "I am going to visit him."

That was oddly wholesome. I thought rich people hated their spouses.

"Enough with the stereotypes! We're not all the same!" she hollered, pointing at me. She winced again and touched her stomach.

"Jeez, can't he quit moving around all the time?" she muttered.

I stared at her as she rubbed her stomach. She noticed me staring after a minute. With her face heating up, she asked,

"Did you want to feel? Don't get any wrong ideas, though! I'm only offering so you'll quit staring at me!"

What a total tsundere!

"I-I'm not a tsundere!"

Ignoring her outrage, I reached over. I gently placed my hand on her belly. It was unexpectantly harder than I thought. I guess it needs to be that way to protect the baby.

"You're not going to feel anything if you stay in one spot," the woman huffed. Grabbing my hand, she began to move it across her belly. It was a bit awkward since my hand was getting damp since her clothes were still wet from the rain.

Suddenly, I felt something inside touch my palm. I pulled my hand away, and the lady frowned at me.

"What's with that unpleasant look on your face?" she demanded.

"That was kind of gross," I mumbled, rubbing my palm.

"G-gross?" she gasped. "How dare you call him gross!"

"It felt weird, though."

"_He's _not an it!"

The taxi suddenly jerked forward without warning. The two of us nearly crashed into the seats in front of us. Upon falling back down in our seats, the woman pointed her perfectly manicured nails at the driver.

"Hey, watch it, will you!" she exclaimed.

The driver didn't even have time to respond because his door goes flying open. A man that looked like Michael Jackson reached inside and pulled the driver out of his seat. The driver rolls onto the street. Jumping in, the Michael Jackson look-alike slams on the pedal and speeds off.

Luckily the rain had stopped or else we wouldn't be able to see where the heck we were going. But it was hard to tell what was happening though with all his swerving and such. The two of us in the back held onto the seats to stop ourselves from playing bumper cars with each other. We were beginning to get nauseous. It looked like the woman was about to puke.

"Can you maybe drive a bit better?" I asked.

"Just beat it!" Michael Jackson snapped.

Despite all the craziness that was going on, the woman next to me let out a snort that slowly ascended into flat-out laughter. That annoyed the driver and he said,

"Shut it! Or else I'm driving off this bridge!"

The woman tried her best to quiet down but she was practically shaking with laughter. That seemed to piss him off even more.

"What's so damn funny?!" he demanded, taking his eyes off the road.

"You...Y-you look like..." she started, before laughing again. "You look like Michael Jackson!"

Michael Jackson's eye twitched slightly. It looked like he wanted to jump out of his seat and sock her in the face.

The car jerked left, and the woman's body flew at me. She crashed into me, and my face hit the window. It kind of hurt.

"Can you drive better?" I repeated to the driver.

He spun his head to look back at me.

"I don't wanna see your face! You better disappear!" he barked. "I don't take orders from anyone!"

"Turn right!" The woman screamed.

I heard the sound of honking. Looking ahead, I saw that a huge truck was heading straight toward us. The thug let out a loud curse and spun the wheel. I heaved to the right and this time I was the one doing the crushing. I tried my best not to fall on the lady's belly though. We were really close to hitting the guard rails for the bridge. The car door was skidding against the metal poles.

"Drive better!" The woman cried.

"Shut your trap!" the driver snapped. "Damn it! The heroes are gonna be here any second..."

"I don't think he can drive any better," I retorted, turning to her. "Because he's bad, he's bad. Come on."

She instantly read my mind and replied, "You know he's bad."

"And the whole world has to answer right now."

"Just to tell you once again-"

"Who's bad," We said in unison. With that, the woman burst out laughing while I snorted.

"I guess you can say he's a _Speed Demon_," I remarked.

"Didn't I tell you two to shut up?!" Michael Jackson screeched. His phone buzzed at the moment, and he scrambled to answer it.  
"Fucking useless... Annie didn't even kidnap the right person..." he muttered. He began to hurriedly reply back the person he was texting while he continued to drive. Pretty dangerous. Don't do this, kids.

"Uh, texting and driving is illegal," I remarked.

The woman scoffed.

"You're concerned about him texting and driving? He tried to kidnap someone!"

I scratched my cheek and said, "Technically, didn't we get kidnapped?"

"Hm, well, now that you mention it..." she said, rubbing her chin. "I suppose that makes him a _smooth criminal_."

"Oh well," I said nonchalantly. "He probably really needs to text Annie back. Probably to ask if Annie's okay."

The car jerked to the left again as Michael Jackson made a wide turn while running a red light. The lady fell on me again, and my face got squashed against the window again.

"Ow... That hurt," I muttered, rubbing my cheek. I glanced at the lady to see if she was okay but saw that her face has gotten considerably paler and her eyes were wide.

"Uh, you okay?" I asked.

She gulped.

"I think my water broke."

"...What?"

And that's when everything broke loose.

"Can't you drive faster?!" The lady screamed at Michael Jackson while she clutched her stomach.

"Sh-shut! Shut it!" he stuttered, with his hands trembling. "Oh God, I did not sign up for this! Wh-what do I do?"

"I'm assuming we are heading to the hospital now since she's in labor," I remarked.

"No shit!" Micheal Jackson screeched. "I-I can't do this! Lady! Can't you hold it in?"

"Don't call my baby _it!"_

She continued to moan in pain while the driver continued to freak out. I just sat there watching the scene unfold. Someone could make a renaissance painting out of this. But there was no time to think about renaissance paintings because Michael Jackson decided to clock out.

The car began to swerve toward the sidewalk where there were plenty of people ready to be used as speed bumps. The woman began to scream either in pain, fear, or maybe a mixture of both; I couldn't tell.

I regret taking the taxi.

Springing up to the driver's seat, Micheal Jackson's body flew into the passenger seat with such force that I heard the sound of his skull smacking the window. I set my hands on the wheel and turned left. The car let out a metallic screech as we swerved back toward the street. Cars angrily honked at us while people ran away from the street.

"When did you learn how to drive?" The lady asked, with her face stained with sweat.

"Just now."

"What?!"

My hands shakily tried to control the steering wheel as the vehicle swayed left to right.

"I mean, how hard could it be?" I said, with a nervous smile. "It's like Mario Kart but in real life."

From the corner of my eye, I saw her sigh in the mirror.

I have to say though, she wasn't looking so well. She was going into labor after all. Seeing her look distressed, I began to feel a bit bad for her. She must be in so much pain right now. I didn't really know what to do make her relieve her pain. There was nothing I could do.

"Uh, let me try putting on some music to calm you down," I suggested, reaching over to the radio. I turned it on.

"The next song on the Greatest Hits of All Time that will be playing is "Deja Vu'". Please enjoy!" the broadcaster announced. Shortly after, the sounds of the Eurobeat tunes of an electric guitar and a piano began playing.

"Seriously? Initial D?" I muttered in distaste. My disappointment was cut off with the moans of the lady in the backseat.

No time to think about the perfect timing of the song. I better get her to the hospital before the baby pops out.

"I'm just gonna turn this up..." I said, twisting the volume knob to the right. Maybe if I make it loud enough I won't be able to hear her screaming.

I slammed my foot on the gas, and the car roared. The car zoomed on the city street. I tried my best to avoid hitting any cars as I swerved around them. They honked at me and some guy even gave me the finger. Meanwhile, the lady in the back was still in pain, except she looked like she was going to throw up now.

This is definitely not like Mario Kart.

From behind, I heard the distant sounds of sirens. Peeking up in the rear mirror, I saw a black cop car speeding straight at me. Red and blue lights flickered signaling everyone else on the street to get out of the way. The car in front of me pulled over while everyone near me did the same.

Just when I thought things were already bad, the police had to come. Great.

The sound of the police siren was getting louder and louder. The line of shops went by in a blur as I pushed harder on the gas. Everything looked like a line of colors.

I noticed the woman in the back mouthing something. Turning down the music, she said to me, "I know...a...shortcut..."

"U-uh, alright. Where is it?" I replied as the driving wheel shook left and right.

"When I tell...you to take a right..."

"Huh?"

"Whoever is in the taxi, I'm going to need you to pull over!" I heard the police say from behind.

"What did you say?" I asked.

"Turn...once we get up to the bookstore!"

My eyes snapped onto the bookstore that was speedily getting closer.

"But you can't turn right," I said, confused.

"Alley...way..." she breathed before letting out another cry.

I squinted my eyes at her through the mirror.

"You...you want me to go through the alleyway...?"

"I'm going to have no choice but to resort to violence if you do not stop the vehicle right now!" The police warned.

Oh gosh... Why did this have to happen to me? I just wanted to get tomatoes for my mom but now I'm here driving a pregnant lady to the hospital while I get chased by the police.

Hiro'll go nuts if he found out about this.

A nervous smile appeared on my face.

"Well... here goes nothing!"

Turning the wheel right, the car swerved into the alleyway. Surprisingly, the alleyway was bigger than expected and the taxi was able to fit in there. Well, barely. There was at least a good 3 inches of space between the car and the wall.

I heard the sirens zip past us as we drove away. Meanwhile, I glued my eyes to the road. Or alleyway. It doesn't matter since I can see the tall white hospital building ahead of us. It was the light at the end of the dark tunnel.

The woman let out a loud cry of pain. I can hear sharp breaths even over all the chaotic noise.

Please hold on for a bit longer. We're almost at the hospital...

I can hear the radio still playing. I reached over and turned the volume up.

_ See your body into the moonlight  
Even if I try to cancel  
All the pictures into my eyes_

I peered over at the gas meter. As expected, it was almost out. But, it was just enough for me to accelerate one more time.

_Don't you see my condition?  
The fiction is gonna run it again  
Can't you see now illusions?  
Right into your mind _

I took a deep breath.

_Deja Vu-_

I think accelerated too much because before I know it, I'm crashing into the lampost near the entrance of the hospital. And I'm going to tell you, everything did go in slow motion. It was like in the movies. But interestingly, my life did not flash before my eyes. What did flash instead was my outstretched hand reaching over to the woman in the back who was trying to shield her stomach, as the window glass began to shatter.

**Her baby...!**

I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for impact. But nothing happened. I didn't feel anything at all.

Did I just die? Did we just die?

I opened my eyes. Next to me was the metal pole of the lamppost. It was right where the radio was at. Everything was crushed. Glass shards were everywhere; on the dashboard, on the car seat... But surprisingly, I didn't get any glass on me. There were no injuries either. Even Michael Jackson who had fainted didn't have anything happen to him.

I turned around to look at the woman in the back. She was curled up with knees up and her head hanging low. Her arms were wrapped around her huge belly. Around her was glass and just like Michael Jackson and me, she was unharmed. I noticed that the glass shards were positioned strangely around her. There were lined out too perfectly around her body as if something pushed all the glass away. But I didn't think too much about it, as I got out of the car and dragged the lady out.

I didn't even get inside the hospital yet as I was met with a flood of nurses, doctors, and paramedics. They all immediately took notice of the pregnant woman. Someone ordered a stretcher and within a minute, they were rolling her into the hospital. After that, they went to get Michael Jackson out of the car. Although he had fainted, he was going to be okay.

Then, they asked me how I was.

"I'm fine," I told them.

They told me that they were amazed that everyone in the car was unharmed. They said it was literally impossible for us to bear no injuries.

"You were very lucky that you weren't hurt," the nurse speaking to me said.

"...I get that a lot..." I muttered.

"So, what happened to the taxi driver?" she asked. "I'm assuming that the man in the car was driving, right?"

I hesitated before speaking.

Should I really tell her that he was actually a thug who pulled the real taxi driver out of the car and drove off but fainted when the rich lady went into labor and I had to end up driving to the hospital?

Nope.

"Well, when the lady wakes up, can you tell her something for me?" I said, completely dismissing her question.

"Yeah, of course!"

"Tell her that I think she has nothing to worry about. She'll be a great mother."

The distant sounds of the police siren were heard from afar. That was my cue to leave. I know that once the police get involved, it's going to get messy so I always made sure to scram before they came. I don't want my face to be plastered all over the news and then have Hiro freak out over it. Having it on the news once was already enough.

I started to quietly slip away from the scene while everyone else was busy checking Michael Jackson's vitals. I made sure to stop by and grab my backpack that was in the car before I left. Luckily, I was able to get away before anyone noticed. I began to walk away.

I still need to run to the supermarket and get tomatoes for Mom, but it's on the other side of town. I wonder if I should take the bus or the train...

The entire taxi ride replayed in my head like a tape.

"Forget it. I'll just tell her that they were out of tomatoes."


	4. A New Foe Has Appeared!

I've come to learn that sometimes, bad things happen to you to even out the good things in life. You get 90 points on your math test-You forget your lunch at home. You find a lucky coin on the ground-A bird takes a dump on your head. You win the lottery-You get hit by a car. You successfully evade some weird pervert wearing a strawberry mask-

-You accidentally switch bags with some random person you bumped into on the street and end up having a bag full of stolen money, and now you may be guilty of a crime that you didn't even commit.

"Today on Shimaya News, a group of six villains wearing paper bags robbed the Eno Bank earlier this afternoon at approximately 2:13 pm. The money was stuffed in several sports bags."A blurry photo of several burglars with brown paper bags on their faces who were wearing black sweaters and sweats popped up on my phone. They all wore different colored shoes which consisted of shades of blues, purples, and grays. Slung over their shoulders were huge gym bags, except for one that wore a green backpack. The sides of the gym bags were navy blue with white straps. A faded Nike sign was plastered on them. In the background, I can make out panicked civilians rushing out of the door. Or at least, what remained of it. Glass was shattered everywhere. The brick wall was destroyed. One of the villains supposedly had an explosive quirk that they used to blast into the bank.

"They got away in a black van that was driven by the sixth member."

Another blurry photo of their get-away car appeared next to the news anchor.

"With the help of heroes, four of the villains were captured. However, the other remaining two were nowhere in sight. The captured villains claim that they were betrayed by two of their members who ran off with the rest of the money."

Live footage from the scene was playing with four of the villains getting handcuffed by the police. Their paper bags were removed now revealing their faces. They all wore an expression of anger as they were seen explaining to the authorities about what happened.

"We were driving off in the get-away car when Ken used his mist. Next thing we know, the four of us are in a completely different place with no money in sight!" One of the villains spoke. Without warning, he reached up toward the camera. His face was plastered on the entire screen. With a crazed look in his eyes, he said, "Those bastards set us up! I swear when I get my hands on them-"

The police pulled him away and the video cut off.

"Civilians' accounts say that the other two culprits were seen again near in southern Shimaya. One was spotted near the Minto Market while the other was seen in the nearby neighborhood."

A blurry pictured popped up, and I immediately recognized where this photo was taken. It was where I dropped my bag. The villain's head was blocked by a red stop sign but you can see my green backpack slung over his shoulder.

"We will keep you updated as more information is passed."

I stared at the green backpack that was sitting on my lap. The bottom of the bag was dirty, probably because it's been thrown around a lot, with the tattered straps being dirty white. On one side of the backpack was a faded image of a smug cat with patches of dirt on its face. The words underneath were peeling off, with the only legible letters left being "PET". Crumbled up green dollar bills were stuffed inside the bag. It looked like there was a fair amount of money in here since the backpack was practically overflowing.

How is it possible that someone happened to have the same exact backpack as me? I won it as a prize at a cat-themed park in America last year! Well, at least it makes sense why that weird strawberry dude kept bugging me. He probably heard the news about the robbery and thought I was involved.

The train screeched to a stop. The doors opened. The kid with black hair and sharp teeth who was sitting next to me stood up from his seat and walked out. The seat remained empty as people flooded in and out of the train. I made sure to close the bag shut so anyone wouldn't see the stash of money. As people came in, I noticed that those teenage girls who always swoon over that peppermint haired boy got on. That must mean that he's riding the train too. I mentally prayed that he wouldn't sit in the empty seat next to me. After a few minutes or so, the train doors began to close, and I sighed in relief.

I heard the sound of someone plopping down beside me. And it was that boy again.

Oh god... Why did he have to sit there? The train was about to leave!

I felt the jealous gazes of several teenage girls dig into my skin like a knife. They were angry.

Great... Now they're all mad. I can't ride the train for the next month anymore.

I peered over at the boy who was silently scrolling through his phone.

I never really took the time to look at him even though I've sat next to him several times. He has a nice face. Sure, there was a scar near his right eye, but it didn't detract his attractiveness. I also wonder how his hair was always perfectly split between red and white.

I rubbed my eyes tiredly. Then, I gently pried open the backpack so I could take a peek inside.

I should probably go turn this into the police.

The events of my runaway from the cops I had earlier this month replayed in my head. I can hear the sounds of sirens, moaning, and the radio blasting.

On second thought... Maybe I should throw it in the street. I don't want to talk to the police especially since that happened. That way, if they don't believe my little story of crashing into one of the perpetrators and switching bags, I don't have to worry about getting accused for stealing either.

"Seems simple enough," I said to myself. I gazed down at the backpack that was loaded with cash.

As long as no one finds out about this, then it'll be fine.

I heard the train car shudder. My body swayed back and forth as the entire train shook. Shortly after, a loud thud followed which caused my backpack to fall from my lap. It fell down next to Peppermint Hair, leaning on his left leg. He immediately gazed over to see that my backpack was wide open and full of cash. Some money even slipped out of the bag and landed on his thigh.

Ah. Crap.

"Excuse me..." I nervously said. I reached over to grab the cash that landed on his thigh. But as I did, my pinky finger slightly grazed over his crotch.

_Ah. Crap._

With a flash, I pulled my hand away. I shakily stuffed the money back into the bag. It started getting hot. I started to sweat.

Oh god... He must think I'm a pervert...

I glanced over to the group of girls to see that their faces were brimming with anger.

I just need to hurry up and grab my bag and leave.

I reached over to pull my bag back to my side when he grabbed my bag. We both ended up lifting the backpack holding it up between us like we were in The Lion King. I just sat there for a split second trying process what the heck was happening.

I awkwardly stared at Peppermint Hair.

Is he going to let go now? What is he doing?

His turquoise and brown eyes stared back at me blankly.

I bet he thinks I stole all this money. He's going to report me. I'm a perverted thief.

"Um..." I started, breaking away from his unwavering gaze.

He seemed to get the cue. He let go of the backpack but because we were sharing the weight by holding one side, the backpack tipped over to him causing all the money...

...to spill out.

_Woosh! _Cash spilled over on his face and onto his lap. People around us immediately took notice of the brightly-colored green cash as they fluttered all over the floor.

**_Ah. Crap._**

It started to get really hot now. I began to sweat even more.

"E-excuse me..." I said, nearly whispering it out. I awkwardly kneeled on the train floor and proceeded to silently gather up all the money that spilled out. The boy next to me kneeled down and helped me out too. Seeing that, the girls who were stalking him immediately joined in as well. I'm assuming they just wanted to have an excuse to get close to him. One girl in particular who tied her hair into a ponytail with a blue ribbon was getting very comfy with him. Within the span of a minute, her shoulder was nearly touching his.

It looked like she wanted to say something to him as she opened her mouth to speak when the boy cut her off.

"You have a lot of money," the boy spoke, glancing up at me.

I nervously chuckled.

"Ahaha... Yeah..." I muttered trying to avoid eye contact with him. It was really hard to since he kept on staring me down.

"Where'd you get it from?"

My hand froze midair.

I doubt he's gonna believe me if I tell him the truth. Who would believe such a story?

I struggled to reply to him, as I grew hotter.

"Uh... Well... I...the money... Um, I got it from...the bank!" I stuttered.

He, the girls, and nearly everyone in the proximity stared at me silently.

I think I just made this situation even worse. I should've just told him the truth. If he doesn't report me then someone here will.

"Well, of course, you got it from the bank!" A booming voice suddenly said from beside me. Hearing a sudden voice, I flinched. I turned to the side to see that weird strawberry hat man kneeling on the floor. He stared at me through his cat-eye sunglasses while wearing a smile on his lips.

"Uh..." I said, unsettled by his appearance. "...I gotta go."

I stuffed the remaining money on the floor that was close enough for me to grab into the backpack. Standing up, I quickly tried to get away when I felt his rubber glove land on my right shoulder.

"You got it from the bank because... You stole it!"

"I didn't steal it!" I quickly said, prying his hand off my shoulder.

He pointed his rubber finger at me in accusation.

"Liar!" he bellowed. "There was a bank robbery earlier today at the Eno Bank! One of the perpetrators had the exact backpack as the one you have on right now. Not to mention, your backpack is full of money!"

Everyone around his began to mumble to themselves.

"Hmm, now that you think about it..."

"He's right!"

My grip on the backpack strap tightened. I can already tell that a big storm was coming if I didn't clear this up.

"Well, maybe I did steal it but it wasn't from the bank," I replied. "I accidentally-"

"Enough of your nonsense!" the strawberry man interrupted. "You villainy ends here now!"

More chattering was heard from the people around.

"I would've never suspected a middle schooler to commit such a crime..."

"Should we call the police?"

"Is that a hero?"

Hearing that last line, the strange man chuckled to himself.

"Hehehe... You are correct, dear civilian," he began. He fluttered his tacky-looking cape with the swipe of his arm as a huge grin crossed his face.

"There is no need to fear because I am a hero!" he announced confidently. "I am the hero: Strawberry Shades!"

An uncomfortable silence fell among the train cart. The only sound heard was the sound of the train shaking. The hero just stood there with his arm still out with his smile.

"...Huh?" I said, confused.

"Strawberry Shades?" the peppermint-haired boy asked, standing up. "I never heard of you."

A mixture of shock, horror, and offense flashed on the hero's face. It looked like he got stabbed by a knife as he dramatically clutched his heart. He cowered over in pain.

"I-impossible! You never heard of me?"

"Nope," I replied bluntly.

He gasped.

"H-how dare you!" he exclaimed, as a tear slipped down his cheek. "You kids have no taste whatsoever!"

Without warning, the train screeched to a stop. Strawberry Shades nearly toppled over me and I had to stumble to the side which made me drop the backpack. Shortly after, an announcement blared on the speakers.

"This is the police! Stay where you are!"

"They're after me!" Strawberry Shades and I said in unison. Upon saying that, we both looked at each other.

"Aha! I knew you stole the money! There's nowhere for you to run now!" he cackled boisterously.

"I told you, I didn't steal it," I said shaking my head. "Hold on a minute. Why would they be after you?"

The train doors creaked open. I saw the police sirens reflecting off the surface of the pole.

"Strawberry Shades, walk out with your hands up!" the police ordered. "You are under arrest for illegal quirk use!"

I squinted my eyes at the oddly dressed man in front of me.

"Oh, I get it," I said. I pointed at him. "You're not actually a licensed hero."

He seemed to get offended at that because he scoffed.

"Who says you need a license to be a hero?"

"The government."

"Screw the government!"

"We are going to ask one more time," the police called. "Walk out with your hands up in the air or else we will have to send in reinforcements."

I peeked out the train windows to see that we were surrounded by police cars. I even saw some heroes lined up, ready to take action if ordered.

"Uh, you should probably listen to them," I suggested. "It'll make the process a lot easier."

"No way!" he barked. "I still have to turn you in for theft!"

"I already told you, I didn't do it."

"Lies! Just because you're 10 doesn't mean I'm gonna go easy on ya!"

"I'm actually 14."

"Alright then. I'm afraid we are going to have to do this the hard way," the police suddenly said.

I looked out the window to see that the line of heroes was about to head in. But then in an instant, it went pitch black outside. It was like someone dropped a veil of darkness. I heard the police and heroes outside begin to panic which made the people in the train panic too.

Shortly after, a long shadow emerged from the darkness and wrapped around Strawberry Shade's waist. People around us screamed.

"Well, it looks like I gotta head out now," he said unbothered by the chaos. "Furutani! Make sure you get the kid too!"

With that, he zipped out of the train doors.

"Wait, what?" I spoke upon hearing that last line.

Peppermint hair rushed over to me without warning with an outstretched left hand that looked like it was turning blue. For a split second, I swore I saw a line of ice shoot out. However before he had a chance, my body was pulled out into the darkness.

It was completely black outside. I couldn't see anything as my body dragged on the floor. It was really uncomfortable because my back was scraping against the cement. I can hear the police shouting commands. I heard the heroes battling someone amidst the darkness but it sounded far away. After a couple more seconds, the darkness evaporated and whatever was dragging me stopped. I skidded to a stop to see that I was surrounded by police cars, cops, heroes, and villains. The heroes were busy fighting off villains as the cops rushed into the train. They didn't notice me at all, so I decided to take this chance to dip outta here before things got worse.

I barely began sitting up when a line of lightning approached me from the left. On instinct, I threw my head back to avoid getting shocked. Perhaps I threw it a bit too hard because the back of my head crashed onto the cement.

As the pain began to throb, I noticed that there was a hero to the right. It looked like he was about to approach me but instead got hit by that mysterious shock of lightning. He was on the ground looking completely charred.

That could've been me if I didn't dodge that.

"I really need to leave," I said as sweat dripped down my face.

I jumped up and ran over to the exit of the train station. As I looked around, the entire place was surprisingly bare. Usually, this place would be bustling with people especially since school ended. Did the police evacuate all the people in the station so they can catch that strawberry guy?

However before I got to the stairs, everything went black again. That same person who used that darkness quirk must have done it again. I tried to wave my hands in front of me in an attempt to grab onto the railing to find that I couldn't move at all. I was paralyzed.

Or so I thought. I felt my feet begin to walk. My body was moving away from the stairs. I tried to stop myself but it was no use; someone must be using their quirk on me.

"I just want to go home..." I said aloud. Well, at least I know that whoever is controlling me can't stop me from speaking.

"There is a young civilian under the influence of the Illegals!" I heard a voice cry.

Wait, vigilantes? I assumed that those other people were villains.

I felt something tight and stringy wrap around my waist. I was in complete oblivion as I felt my body be pulled to the right. I landed on someone's chest. The build felt more like a man's rather than a woman's. I mean, I didn't feel any boobs are anything so it had to be a guy's.

"Damn it, where did you go...?" I heard my savior (or kidnapper) mutter gruffly.

"If you don't mind me asking, what the heck is happening right now?" I asked.

"One of those Illegals is using their vision quirk on you, and I'm trying to find them so I can disable it," the man replied.

"Disable it...?" I mumbled. "You're that hero who erases people's quirks. What's your name again?"

"Eraserhead," he replied. I felt my body begin to move again when the material around my waist tightened preventing me from leaving. Then within a flash, my vision came back.

In front of me was a tall, thin man that had curly blonde hair. He was wearing a police uniform. He was wrapped up in steely-looking cloth. His mouth was opened slightly in a mixture of surprise and awe.

"Oh, wow! You actually found me!" he said with a goofy grin. His round eyes gazed over to me.

"Huh? Shades said that you were wearing a backpack but I don't see it."

"You must be talking about that weird strawberry guy," I said.

The young man clicked his tongue.

"He must've made a mistake 'gain."

The wrappings around my waist loosen and I was able to break free. I moved away so Eraserhead could bring the smiley cop closer to his grasp.

"So you must be part of that so-called vigilante group that's been running around," Eraserhead said, with his eyes red and hair defying the laws of gravity.

"Ding, ding! One point for Eraserhead!" the smiling cop exclaimed. "I'm part of that 'so-called vigilante group that's been running around'; But I'd preferred you called us by our name..."

The jubilant grin on his face shifted to a condescending one.

**"Blackbird."**

I saw a card, one of those playing cards, flutter onto the ground in front of us. It was an eight card with red diamonds.

"Well, gotta blast!" the cop cheerfully announced. Before Eraserhead can do anything, an explosion erupted from the card.

I covered my ears to lessen the eruptions and shut my eyes. Amidst the explosions, I heard a gruff voice speaking to the smiley cop. I couldn't understand what they were saying because of the ringing in my ear. After waiting for a few seconds, my eye fluttered open to see that the oddly cheerful cop was nowhere in sight. He was gone.

"Eraserhead!" Kamui Woods called, sprinting over to us. "What happened? There was an explosion and-"

"Damn... He got away," Eraserhead cursed. He gazed down at the hand knife that was in his right hand and the ripped cloth in his other.

No vigilantes were arrested; they all escaped including Strawberry Shades. Unfortunately, there was no way I was going to be able to get out of this mess and I got questioned by the police. I told them the truth about what happened; about how I accidentally switched backpacks with one of the villains that robbed the bank and how Strawberry Shades was after me. They believed my story since they caught the villain. They even returned my original backpack back to me.

Eraserhead explained to the authorities and heroes about the smiling cop he captured. He told them that he was part of the vigilante group known as Blackbird, and how he was able to escape by having one of his comrades use a bomb that was obscured as a playing card. He also informed them about his quirk.

After all that commotion, I was allowed to go home. Well, not really. More so, I snuck away before they can ask me for my parents' contact information and before the press came. I didn't want to deal with that.

As I hurriedly scampered away from the train station and out into the streets, I saw a particular red and white-haired boy speaking to someone on his phone. He looked a bit distressed as his face was contorted into a frown. After a couple more seconds, he hung up.

I should probably avoid him. I did grope him, after all.

I quietly walked past him trying to blend into the crowd. However, he started to walk in the same direction as me and we ended up waiting at the same stoplight. He noticed that I was standing next to him and began to stare at me. I tried to ignore him but it was hard.

I assumed that this was going to be the last time I would ever encounter that strange self-proclaimed hero known as Strawberry Shades, but oh boy, I was so wrong. Not only that I will be seeing him around town, but also the vigilante group, Blackbird. If I haven't bumped into that villain and got on that train that day, who knows how differently things could've turned out? Who knows where I would be now?

But that's for another day. As I stood at the crosswalk waiting for the stupid light to turn green so I can walk away from my train buddy, the only thing in my mind at that moment was why this guy always ended up next to me.


	5. The Hotdog Hostage

Huh? Where am I?

I woke up to complete darkness. I can feel a piece of cloth, a blindfold, pressing against my eyelids. My butt was numb from the chair that I was sitting in. Around my wrists was rope tying me down to the chair.

How did I get here? All I remember is walking home from the bookstore and grabbing a bite to eat at a nearby hotdog stand...

I moved my head to the left and to the right as I tried to listen to see if there was anyone else in the room with me. I'm pretty sure that I was alone in the room though. All I heard was the sounds of dripping water from the right, and a fan running somewhere far off. It wasn't too far because I can slightly feel a cool air blow in my face.

Suddenly, I heard a door creak open from ahead of me.

"If you don't mind me asking, why am I here?" I casually asked.

Whoever was in front of me didn't answer. Instead, I heard footsteps walk toward me. They sounded soft as if there was something padded around their foot. They stopped. I can hear heavy breathing from above my head.

"Wait a minute..." I started. "Is this a Frebreeze commercial?"

"...What?"

I sniffed the air around me.

"Well, I smell a lot of grease and oil. There's also a hint of metal."

"Ya idiot. This ain't no a Febreeze commercial," Whoever was in front of me dryly said. "You're a hostage."

I clicked my tongue in disappointment.

"Again?"

I felt the scent of grease get significantly closer to me as I heard his clothes shuffle. I felt the presence of his arms reach over to shoulders. Then with a screech, he turned the chair in a 180. The wind from the fan blew at the back of my head and tickled my nose. It made me want to sneeze.

"So, why am I a hostage?" I asked.

"Your brother of yours ripped us off, that's why," he gruffly replied.

Why is Hiro pissing off so many people? Maybe if he stopped, then I wouldn't be kidnapped all the time.

"Hiro? Were you an ex-coworker of his or something?" I asked him.

He ignored my question and instead expressed his frustration with the camera he was fumbling with.

"How do I turn this damn thing on...?"

My ears perked up.

"There should be a button on the bottom. Hold it until it flashes red and then the camera will turn on."

A few seconds passed and I heard a short, loud-pitched beep.

"Oh. It worked," he said. There was a quick pause between us until he spoke again.

"How didya know that there was a camera 'ere? And how did ya know how to work it?!"

"I've been a hostage a few times now," I replied shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly. "There's always a camera they use to announce their ransom."

"Wait, ya been held hostage before?"

"My brother seems to have a habit of pissing off his co-workers. For some reason, they never come directly to him and decide to kidnap me instead," I said in distaste. I let out a sigh. "It gets tiresome."

There was a moment of silence between us. I can tell without even seeing his face that we dumbfounded.

"The camera started recording, y'know," I informed, breaking the silence.

"I don't see nothin'. You're not poppin' up in the video."

"Did you take the plastic thing off? The thing that goes over the camera? I forgot what it was called."

"Ya mean this?"

There was another moment of silence.

"Snaps. I forgot you're blindfolded," he mumbled. "Why did I even try to show it to ya?"

I heard another click from the camera signaling that he must've ended the video. He was probably going to start a new one so he can send it to Hiro.

"So..." I started when he cut me off.

"Ssh! I'm startin' the video!" he hissed. I immediately shut my mouth. Then, my kidnapper cleared his throat.

"Hey, Hiro. I got your sister here with me. If ya don't come over 'ere quick, I'll kill her!"

I scrunched up my nose.

"That's so generic," I remarked dryly.

"Wh-what? Generic?" he stuttered.

"Why don't you try switching your words up a bit?" I started.

My kidnapper stopped the video. I heard up startup a new one.

"Look what I got 'ere," he purred. "You best hurry your way over here, or else I'll have to do somethin' very bad to her. In the meantime, I'll be having loads of fun with her."

A shiver went down my spine. I cringed to myself.

"Ew, don't ever say that again."

He seemed to get offended by that because he said,

"Ya told me to switch it up!"

"I know, but not like this. You sound like a pedophile."

He let out an irritated huff.

"Well, what doya think? Since you been kidnapped before?"

"Uh... Well..." I started. "You can try being more specific on how you plan to kill me. Actually, wait-nevermind. Scratch that out. The last guy did that and he just sounded like an edgy middle schooler. Maybe you can just be very frank and simple with it. Like, just straight up say that you kidnapped me and you want your ransom."

The man let out a sigh. I heard the camera click again, and he started recording.

"Yo, Hiro. I got your sister. Let's settle this like men. Meet me behind the agency at 6. And give me a call when you get there."

He stopped the video.

"Alright. How about dat?"

"...It's fine, I guess," I said. "It's better than the other two tries you did before."

"Well, it's the last one I'm doin'," he informed. "...There. I sent it to him."

"So, what did my brother do to piss you off then?" I questioned.

"He set me up. He used me as bait during one of our mission. 'Cause of that, the boss got mad dat I got caught and fired me," he growled. "Dat son of a bitch... I can't wait to give him beatin'. I'll wipe that stupid grin off his face!"

Dang. This guy actually had a reasonable reason to be upset. The other people were angry over stupid reasons like spilling coffee on them and (unintentionally) calling their outfit ugly. Unfortunately, my kidnapper seemed a bit of an airhead so it really subtracted away from the threat factor.

The fan that was behind me blew at my head. My hair kept tickling my nose and now it was getting really itchy now, so I asked my kidnapper if he can turn it off.

"No! Do it yourself!" he barked.

"...I'm tied to the chair."

"Snaps. I forgot."

He stood up and turned off the fan for me after that. Then, I asked him how he kidnapped me.

"Ya bought a hotdog that I drugged," he explained. "When ya knocked out, I brought you 'ere to my house."

The hotdog stand... Yeah, that's right. I was on my way home from school. The bookstore finally restocked the issues that Hiro wanted that Bakugo destroyed that one day, so I went to get them again. After that, I was really hungry so I stopped by a hotdog stand to buy me something to eat. The hotdog was incredibly salty; he probably sprinkled some drugs on it. I remember the guy at the stand wearing a ridiculous hotdog costume too. The head-area was too small for him so his face was practically squeezing out. It looked like when you try to wear a pair of jeans that are too tight that it makes your belly protrude out.

"Are you still wearing the costume?" I asked.

"Well... Ya. I didn't have time to change..."

"So I really got kidnapped and held hostage by a hotdog?"

"Er, I guess?"

This is ridiculous. First, some weird pervert with a strawberry mask and now a guy in a hotdog costume? I think the summer heat is really getting into people's heads.

"Do you mind letting me go?" I asked, getting fed up with dealing with Hiro's problems.

"No! Are ya crazy? Ya can't go until Hiro comes!"

I let out a weary sigh.

"He's not gonna come. His nap ends at 6:30," I explained. "So there's no use waiting for him. I have things to do. I gotta study for my Chem test."

The hotdog man clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"So? I dun care. Who told ya not to study?" he remarked. "Kids these days..."

My eyeball twitched from behind the blindfold. I found it ridiculous that he was upset at me for not studying for my test when he was the one kidnapped me in the first place, effectively preventing me from studying. I made sure to point out his insensible thinking to him. He didn't take it so well.

"I swear! I'll kill ya!" he threatened, his voice getting considerably closer.

"That's what they all say," I replied dryly.

He continued to threaten me as I sat there unaffected. I've been held hostage numerous times so I'm practically immune to his threats. Besides, I've watched my bully gets attacked by a sludge monster, had to drive a pregnant lady in labor to the hospital, and most of all accidentally touched someone's wee-wee. There's no way he was making me flinch.

After a while, he gave up. Instead, he angrily stormed out of the room slamming the door shut.

For about twenty minutes or so, I just sat there alone in the room listening to the constant dripping of water. It was also beginning to get hot, and I wished I told the hotdog man to keep the fan on. Not to mention, I was stuck blindfolded to a chair. The sweat from my forehead sank into the blindfold over my eyes. My back was growing wet too. I also needed to pee.

This sucks. I just want to go home. Right now would be a really good time for my quirk to come out.

"Maybe if I try hard enough, I can activate my quirk," I mumbled.

I spread my fingers out. Taking a deep breath, I envisioned a blast of explosions emerging from my palms.

And nothing happened.

"Maybe if I try being very angry, then it'll work."

I scanned my library of memories trying to recall something that'll get me riled up. However, I found that I couldn't really find anything. There were things I did get upset about but thinking about it now in the future didn't make me feel anything. It was in the past, so why should I still be upset over it?

I let out a defeated sigh.

"Hiro... You suck."

I felt something tickle my nose. A sneeze began to rise up to my nose. I opened my mouth in preparation, and I let out a giant sneeze.

My head swooped down to my chest. Instinctively, my feet and hands flew up. The sound echoed and bounced off the walls. I felt spit and possibly snot fly into my hands...that was now free from its bindings.

I lifted my arms out. Reaching for the back of my head, I untied the blindfold. My eyes were immediately greeted with a bright lightbulb that was a few feet away from me, and I had to squint my eyes. After adjusting, I slowly stood up.

In front of me was the camera that guy used to record me. Around me were metal pipes lined across the walls. The entire room was made of gray cement. Turning around, was an old wooden chair that I was tied to. The ropes were sprawled out on the floor. There was a small puddle of water in the right corner of the room. A white fan was on the left.

"Guess I'm free now," I said, shrugging my shoulders. That was easy.

I sauntered over to the beat-up door and reached for the rusty doorknob. Opening it, I saw a long hallway. At the end of it was steep stairs. It did look a bit creepy since the wallpaper in the hall looked old and was peeling off. This hideout place was definitely better than the other places I was brought to. The last guy brought me to the backrooms of a local Mcdonald's.

I made my way to the stairs. As I walked up, the stairs groaned with every step my crystal clean shoes took. When getting to the top, I creaked open the door.

It seems like I made it out. Now I was standing inside of a house, the hotdog man's house, I guess. It was a small place. To the left was a tiny dining room with a circular table with two chairs. It connected to the kitchen with the tackiest wallpaper I've ever seen. To the right was where the tv sat. In front of it was a pull-out couch that had mounds of blankets and pillows on it. It looked like that's where he spent the majority of his nights.

I spotted the image of a smug cat hiding behind the side of the couch. I went over and grabbed my backpack. I pried the top open. Reaching inside, I pulled out my phone.

10 points for a reasonable motive for the kidnapping and 5 points for the creepy basement. However, minus 10 points for not hiding my phone.

I clicked the home button. My screen lit up with messages from nobody, even my parents. The time on my phone read "6:45 pm".

"Wow... My parents really don't care, do they?" I muttered bitterly. Oh well. I guess it makes things easier for me whenever I have to get out of sticky situations. I don't need them hounding on me about my whereabouts.

Without warning, someone crashed into the window that was behind me. Glass flew everywhere but it somehow didn't land on me. I didn't have time to think about that since I was snapping my attention on the man that was lying on the ground.

My eyes locked onto a tall oddly dressed man wearing dark cat-eye sunglasses. Around his neck was a cheap-looking bright yellow cape that sprawled across the carpet. He wore red rubber gloves with matching red rain boots. On his head, he wore a strawberry mask. I can see a small purple bruise forming on his left cheek.

Strawberry Shades? This guy again?

"Hey! It's you again!" Strawberry Shades exclaimed.

Before I can answer, I saw the hotdog man charging over to us. He jumped through the cracked window and slammed his hands on Strawberry Shades. However, Strawberry Shades was able to roll in time and dodge the attack. He sprung up to his feet and slugged my kidnapper in the face. My kidnapper flipped onto the old sofa beside us.

Grabbing my arm, the hero said,

"Time to blast!"

He jumped out of the broken window pulling me behind him. As our feet hit the grass, another hotdog man comes flying into him. The weight of their bodies along with Strawberry Shade's fingers around my wrist caused me to fall down too. I tumbled on the grass while Strawberry Shades proceeded to fend off his attacker.

What? There's more than one hotdog?

"There they are!" A third hotdog man exclaimed, behind. He looked slightly different from the one that crashed into the sofa. He had a brown goatee. Accompanying him were three more guys wearing identical hotdog costumes. The one on the right, with his face too large for the costume, pointed his finger at me.

"You! How did ya escape?! I swore I tied ya up real good!"

That must be the one that I was talking to when I was tied up. But I don't remember him mentioning that he had buddies.

The three hotdogs pulled out tasers and charged at me. Within seconds, they were in front. The one who tied me up let out a roaring cry and jumped on me, but missed because I climbed back inside. He flopped onto the grass with a _thump! _Meanwhile, the other two worked on detaining Strawberry Shades who was getting absolutely crushed.

With my phone still in my hand, I clicked it on to call the police. However, I was only met with the disappointing reflection of my double-chinned face.

"Of course it has to be dead..." I muttered angrily.

Just then, I noticed the hotdog who tried to tackle me was getting up along with the one on the couch. Grabbing my backpack off the floor and throwing my phone inside, I sprinted over to the front door to escape. Fumbling with the lock, I slammed the door open. I guess the guy who fell on the grass was trying to block my escape by standing in front of the door because I heard a loud _thud_ right as I opened it. Peeking out of the doorway, I saw the hotdog lying on the grass with a dazed look in his eyes. I carefully stepped over his body.

"Gotchu!" A booming voice hollered from behind. I felt a pair of big meaty hands wrap around my neck and put me in a chokehold. He lifted me up with my legs dangling out. His arms tightened around my throat. It was getting hard to breathe.

Ah, crap. I'm choking...

"There's nowhere you can run now, girlie!" the man squeezing me sneered. With me still in his arms, he stomped over to his other three buddies who were busy beating up Strawberry Shades.

I gazed over at Strawberry Shades who was getting repeatedly tased by all four hotdog men. They were taking turns hitting him with the taser.

So much for saving me...

I tried my best to pry his arms off of my neck, but it was no use. My vision began getting blurry as I was slowly losing consciousness. The world was fading away. The sun that was shining was beginning to get dimmer. I felt something inside of me begin to pound and the longer it did, the more it began to hurt.

**At times like this, I wish my stupid quirk would come.**

And he did.

I felt the man's arms around my neck loosen effectively dropping me. I collapsed down on the grass and hung my head low, gasping for air. My head and throat were throbbing. My heart was pounding so hard that I can feel it practically jump out of my chest. I wanted to throw up.

As I sat there trying to compose myself, I heard the sound of shuffling behind me. A familiar pair of checkered Vans kneeled next to me.

In front of me, I saw the hotdogs stop hitting the pathetic hero on the grass. They all stared behind me.

"Shit! He's here!" One of them with tiny eyes cursed.

"Forget the hero and girl!" the hotdog with the goatee ordered. "Get that damn bastard!"

They all charged in my direction. As they did, I heard a gentle voice speak in my ear.

"Sorry, Rin. I'm going to have to borrow this for a moment."

I felt a hand slip into my backpack and pull something out. The pair of dirty Vans beside me stood up. With light and feathered steps, they walked in front of me and stopped. Then with the thrust, one of my mangas I bought flew in the air. It flew behind the group of villains but before it touched the ground, a figure appeared and landed on the grass instead. The villains who were charging skidded to a stop. Everything went silent as they watched the manga that was thrown behind them suddenly land in the grass in front of them.

"H-how...how did he do that?" the villain with small eyes stuttered.

Without warning, a hand slammed his face in the grass so hard that dirt appeared. The other two hotdogs spun around in alarm. But as they did, another manga goes flying behind them and he appears again. One hotdog slammed down in the dirt, just as another manga is flung. The thugs couldn't keep up though because the next thing they know, another one of their buddies is crashing into the paneling of the house. A small trail of blood stained the wall.

"How is he doing that?!" the hotdog with the goatee said in a panic. Just as he said so, a hand bumps into his arm making him drop his taser. Before he can do anything, he gets tased by his own taser and collapses on the lawn.

He lets out a loud curse. He tries to stand up but gets tased again. He gazes up.

"Im...impossible..! I thought you were...!" he starts but he gets cut off by another jab by the taser to the face. He knocked out.

—- —-

Ｏｎｉｓｈｉ Ｈｉｒｏ

Ｑｕｉｒｋ： Ｓｗｉｔｃｈ

Ｂｙ ｔｈｒｏｗｉｎｇ ａｎ ｏｂｊｅｃｔ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ ａｉｒ， ｈｅ ｃａｎ ｓｗｉｔｃｈ ｐｌａｃｅｓ ｗｉｔｈ

ｔｈａｔ ｏｂｊｅｃｔ ｂｅｆｏｒｅ ｉｔ ｔｏｕｃｈｅｓ ｔｈｅ ｇｒｏｕｎｄ．

—- —-

Dropping the taser on the grass, Hiro jogged over to me with worrisome eyes hiding behind his circular rims. He placed a hand on my back and asked if I was okay. I shrugged him off and staggered up on my own.

"I'm sorry that I didn't come earlier! If I've hadn't fallen asleep-"

"It's fine," I interrupted. I let out a cough that seemed to rile him off again.

"Are you okay? How's your throat? Are you bleeding anywhere?" he frantically asked, inspecting me for any wounds. His eyes took notice of my scratched up knees, and he freaked out.

"I told you, I'm fine," I muttered annoyedly.

Hiro let out a relieved sigh.

"Why are you always running into trouble when I'm away?" he said to himself.

I noticed Strawberry Shades slowly getting up from the ground. Hiro noticed too because he immediately went on "defense mode".

"Ah! The villains have been defeated!" Strawberry Shades announced. "All thanks to me!"

He let out a hearty laugh, as Hiro and I stood there unamused.

"Rin, who is this...?" Hiro whispered to me.

"Oh, him?" I said, pointing. "That's just some weird cosplayer."

Strawberry Shades overheard us speaking, and he immediately took offense to my statement.

"W-weird cosplayer? I am not!" he exclaimed, with tears trickling down his cheeks. "I am a hero!"

"An unlicensed one," I added.

"Justice must be served!" he retorted. "Who cares if I'm unlicensed?"

"The police..." Hiro said awkwardly.

Just then, the sound of police sirens blared. The police were coming, and I knew that it was time to bail. There's no need to push my study time even further.

"Well, it seems like the police are on their way," Strawberry Shades announced. He grabbed onto his tacky cape. "It seems like my work here is done."

"But you didn't do anything," I mumbled as I watched the hero scamper away. He tried to jump over the fence but he face-planted on the grass. He let out a curse. After that, he sprinted away.

»»—- —-««

"I didn't know that you were coming today. If I would've known, I would've told Rin to go grocery shopping," Mom remarked.

Hiro rubbed his head sheepishly.

"I'm sorry. My phone died so I couldn't text either of you."

"How long are you staying?"

"For two weeks. I'm on break."

My parents and Hiro began to chat about his job. Hiro's agency he works at is in another city. Since it's a four-hour ride from here to there, he roomies with one of his friends until he can afford his own home. The place he works at is a rookie hero agency. However, he doesn't get on any of the action; he's stuck doing paperwork. It seems like he's been training though because he was able to take out those villains in a flash. He's probably working hard to get a promotion so he actually become a hero.

"So, do you think you'll be able to get out there yet?" Dad asked him.

"I'm still new to the place, so I doubt it," Hiro replied. He turned to me.

"I ruined your manga. Sorry about that."

I shrugged it off. I told him that those comics were for him anyway. I didn't tell him about the whole "Bakugo charring the first ones I bought for him" thing though. I don't want him to worry.

After dinner, I was stuck with cleaning duty. However, Hiro was somehow able to convince my parents to help clean up despite their best efforts. Hiro's always been the type of person who's always willing to help out.

"Are you okay?" Hiro asked me, as he placed a plate into the sink for me. "I mean, about the whole hostage situation."

I rinsed off the soapy cup and placed it into the drying rack.

"I'm not scared anymore. I'm older now," I remarked.

Also because I've been a hostage because of you multiple times but I'm not gonna talk about that and freak you out even more.

"Anyway, what the heck did you do to piss that hotdog dude off? He said that you ripped him off during some mission? Used him as bait?"

Hiro's dark eyes darted to the side. He scratched his cheek nervously.

"W-well, you see, I was suspicious of him..." he started. "On one of the missions, I lied and told him the wrong orders."

I raised an eyebrow at him. Seeing my reaction, he quickly said,

"But it was for a good cause! You see, I wanted to see if he would actually run off with the gold necklace we were supposed to be retrieving. It turns out, he was going to so I told my boss."

I focused my attention back on dishwashing.

Hiro finished cleaning the table so he began to head into the living room. Before he can go, I called out to him.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot to thank you," I said.

Hiro stopped. He peered at me, giving me a warm smile.

"Of course. I'm your quirk, after all."

He walked away, and I continued washing the dishes. As I dunked my wrinkled hands into the dishwater, my mind thought back to the day where Hiro got in trouble for getting into a fight with one of the kids at school who bullied me.

_ "I don't care if I get in trouble," Hiro said, stubbornly. "If they mess with you, they mess with me. Besides, I gotta watch out for you since you don't have your quirk yet. Until __you get it, which I say pretty soon, I'll be your quirk."_

I stared at the soapy plate in my hands.

Yeah, right. I'm never going to find it.

_"If anyone of those bullies come back to tease you, just call me over and I'll take care of them!"_

My quirk, huh?

I let out a long sigh.

I never admitted it back then, both aloud and within, but knowing that Hiro was always going to be watching out for me was comforting. Also, knowing that I didn't need to have my own quirk but have him instead comforted me even more. I didn't need to worry about quirks when he was here, because he was my power.

_**"It's fine now! Why? Because I am here! Your big brother is here to protect you!"**_


	6. In Summer

_Summer_

_Hair gets lighter_

_Skin gets darker_

_Water gets warmer_

_Drinks get colder_

_Music gets louder_

_Nights get longer_

_Life gets better_

Well, that's what the quote on Instagram said at least. I'm not sure about that last part of "Life gets better" because life definitely doesn't seem better right now.

"Everyone, get out of the water! I repeat, get out of the water!" the lifeguard hollered anxiously through her red and white megaphone.

I watched as everyone in the water, with parents immediately grabbing their children and couples entangling their arms together, scamper out slowly. A few swimmers around me began to voice their confusion. Some of the younger kids outright ignored her orders and continued splashing around. Whether it was an actual emergency or not, it'll make things easier if I got out.

"Himawari, the lifeguard said we gotta get out," I announced turning around. Instead of seeing a little girl there, I was met with one of her pink arm floaties that were sitting on the ripples.

I was supposed to be babysitting. My neighbor's down the street needed a sitter for the weekend since they had to go out of town for a funeral. They didn't want to take their kid, so they asked me if I can watch her. They had to pick the worst candidate for watching her, did they? First of all, I'm a walking magnet that attracts trouble wherever I go and secondly, I have zero experience with babysitting. However, I didn't really have the choice to say no so I agreed.

The neighbor's kid, Himawari, seemed really bummed out that her parents abandoned her so I thought taking her to the beach would cheer her up. Both my parents were busy today so they couldn't make it, but luckily Hiro's still here so he was able to drive us and tag along. I thought it was gonna be easy watching a 5-year-old with the two of us, but boy, I was wrong. It's mostly been me doing all the work though since Hiro's been stuck in the bathroom for the past fifteen minutes. I think he got food poisoning from one of the kababs he bought.

But right now would be a really good time for him to come out and help me find Himawari. More people were retreating back on the sand. The ocean water was emptying out, and I still couldn't find her.

I hurriedly waded through the water trying to find any sign of a little 5-year-old wearing a polka-dotted sunhat. It was difficult. I tried calling her name but my voice just got drowned out by the wave of voices. More and more people had gotten out of the water now. A few minutes passed by with no luck.

This is bad. What if she got lost? What if she got kidnapped? What if she drowned? I swore she was right next to me. I turn my back for one second and bam! She's gone.

"Crap..." I muttered, beginning to panic. "Where'd Himawari go?"

As I continued on with my search, I overheard two boys my age talking about the current situation.

"The stronger heroes should be coming anytime soon," the taller one with a shaved head mumbled, as he surveyed the crowd.

"Are you sure you saw an actual villain?" his companion with blond hair with a notable black streak, asked.

"Of course it was! I saw their face and everything while I was underwater. It looked like an octopus. One of the tentacles almost touched me! We're no match against a big villain like that. It's best if we wait for backup," he replied.

"Are you sure it wasn't just a plain 'ole octopus?"

"I swear it was a villain!"

The two boys continued to make their way out of the water.

Is that why we were pulled out of the water? Because there was a villain in it? This situation is getting worse by the second. I really need to find Himawari...

That's when I heard a bubbling sound in front of me. It was pretty loud because even the two boys in front of me stopped and turned around.

"Dude, did you just fart?" the blond one teased, with a smug look appearing on his face.

"I did not!" his friend retorted.

"I totally get it. You must be freaked out over the whole villain thing."

"I'm telling you, I saw it! You don't believe me, don't you?"

The two of them soon got into a squabble about whether or not the villain spotting was real. About a minute in, the blond boy's body stiffens.

"Why's your leg feel so weird?" he asked with a disgusted look.

"What do you mean?" the bald one replied. "I didn't touch you."

"Then who touched me?" his friend said, folding his arms. "The octopus villain?"

Just as he said that a huge purple octopus man comes soaring out of the water. He had the torso of a human but the legs of an octopus. A wave crashed down on me and the boys, pushing us in opposite directions. Immediately making its appearance, the people on the beach took notice and began to panic.

"I told you there was a villain! You didn't believe me!" the bald boy exclaimed in a mixture of triumph and fear.

I wiped the salty seawater from my eyes. In one of the octopus man's tentacles was Himawari. Her face was blue. She was gasping for air.

Crap, crap, crap! Out of all the times I don't get captured, it has to be the kid I'm babysitting that gets captured instead. I have to get her out!

I stared at the villain that towered over me. His eyes were yellow with dark pupils. He wore an evil grin on his lips exposing his razor-sharp teeth.

How the heck is a little middle schooler with no quirk gonna go up against an evil tentacle man?

Himawari took notice of my presence. Her wide eyes glimmered with hope upon seeing me.

"R-Rin! I-I'm scared!" she blubbered. She stretched her hand out toward me in an attempt to grab onto me.

"Save me..."

The horrified look on her round face made me feel a pit of guilt sink into my stomach. What the heck was I doing here doing nothing as a little kid was begging me for help? Although the odds were not in my favor, I needed to do something.

"U-um, how about you put her down?" I said pathetically to the octopus man.

"It's not that simple, kid!" he snorted. "She's mine!"

I tried again.

"Well... Um, why have a little kid when you can have...me as a hostage instead!"

What kind of suggestion was that? However, I was already bringing that topic up so I had to roll with it.

I awkwardly shifted my gaze to the side as I struggled to come up with a convincing argument.

"Uh, you know, when the heroes-"

The villain interrupted me.

"If!"

"Er, yeah, _if _the heroes come, wouldn't it be weird that you're holding a little 5-year-old in your...um, tentacles?"

The octopus raised his nonexistent eyebrow at me. The two boys behind him, who were too stunned to move, also gave me an odd look.

"I'm just saying that it's kinda weird. You know, it might make you look like...a lolicon."

I managed to somehow get my point across because he glanced at Himawari awkwardly.

"H-huh...well, I guess that makes sense," he stuttered.

"Yeah," I continued. "At least with me, it won't be as weird since I'm over the..._age of consent_."

Hearing me say those three words out loud made me cringe. If my parents, heck, if Hiro heard what I said, they'll lose their minds.

I noticed the two boys standing behind the villain turn pink. Seeing their flustered expression only made me cringe harder.

"So... How about it?" I said to the octopus.

He stood there for a moment. He was processing what I said to him. He kept glancing at Himawari and me. After a minute or so, one of his slimy tentacles wrapped around my waist and pulled me up. I can feel his suckers cling onto my bare skin. I cringed in disgust.

"I've decided," the villain said. A devilish grin appeared on his face. "I'm gonna use the two of you as my hostages!"

Welp. I failed miserably. I mean, at least I tried?

"Stop! In the name of justice!" a voice suddenly boomed.

The villain frantically spun around trying to find the source of the voice. He, along with Himawari, the two boys, and I settled our gazes upon two figures standing on what looked like a surfboard that was floating on the water. I couldn't really tell who they were since they were relatively far away. I saw a line come out of one of the figure's fingertips that propelled them toward us. With a flash, they appeared in front of us. A wave of water splashed on us. Once rubbing the water out of my eyes, I gazed at my potential heroes.

There were a boy and a girl. The one on the right was taller than the other girl. He wore a heavy cloak that pulled over his eyes, almost like a mask. His cloak reached down to his calves. He had on baggy army pants with black combat boots and a tank top. Slung over his shoulders with his orange gloves was a long fishing pole. The girl's color scheme seemed significantly more analogous with her colors consisting of grays. She wore a gray mask with a gray leotard. She had on thigh-high heels. Her spiky hair was pulled into two pigtails.

The surfboard they were standing on wasn't actually a surfboard but an expanded playing card. Somehow, the card wasn't sinking from their weight or its paper properties.

"Don't worry! The hero Static is here!" the girl announced gallantly. "Along with her trusty sidekick, the Masterbaiter!"

The villain who was holding us hostage let out a snort. I didn't get what he found so funny until a few seconds later. That seriously cannot be his hero name.

Her sidekick, known as the Masterbaiter, spun to glare at her.

"My name is not the Masterbaiter! And I'm not your sidekick either!"

"Whadya mean? It's the perfect name," Static replied. "You have a fishing pole. Fishing poles bait fish, and since you've been using that pole for a long time now, you must be a master at it."

"The point is that it sounds wrong," he remarked. "It sounds like I have too much fun in the bathroom."

Static just shrugged carelessly and turned to us.

"Holding two defenseless kids in your tentacles, huh? I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going."

_What...? _Did she just...?

"Static, what the hell?! Don't say that!" her companion hissed, his face turning pink.

"What? What did I say?" Static said innocently, turning to him.

"Do I really have to explain that comparing their situation to hentai is a bad thing?" he said through his teeth.

"Whoops. My bad! It accidentally slipped!"

"Yeah, and my shoe is going to _accidentally slip _and kick you off if you don't learn how to keep your damn mouth shut!"

She pouted in distaste as she gazed down at the water.

"You better not. The water's wet."

Saying those words seemed to tick the Masterbaiter off because he held his hands out toward her in a way that resembled wanting to strangle her.

"It is not! How many times do we have to go over this?" he exclaimed.

"'Course it is. Right?" she said, turning to us.

"Uh, well..." I started. "I...guess?"

Hearing me agree with her, the cloaked hero spun in my direction. He pointed at me in anger.

"Water's not wet! And I'll tell you why!"

"Aren't you supposed to be saving us-"

"To say that something is wet means that the water on the surface of that something can be removed. You get caught outside in the rain, you say _'Aw, my hair got wet, now I gotta get it redone.' 'Aw, my shoes got wet, now I gotta let them sit outside and dry.' _You don't say, that the ocean gets wet; it's just water, water is water," he started passionately.

"Fire, right? We know that it burns things right? But it's not in and of itself burned, right? Water, it wets things but it's not in and of itself wet. Okay?"

I rubbed my chin.

"If you put it that way..." I mumbled. My capturer seemed to understand the hero's point because he was rubbing his chin thoughtfully too.

He continued.

"The word wet is only supposed to be used when water gets on something. For example, if I were to splash water on my boot right here and say it's wet, but if it were somehow possible to splash water droplets onto water, well you could see the water droplets sitting on the water, you'd say _'Oh that water is wet!'_ But the term wet is an adjective that is only conditional, that's used to describe the surface of something that is typically dry."

Static scoffed.

"Bro, chill out. I was just kidding-"

"Shut up! Let me talk!" he snapped. He cleared his throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen, here's the simple proof test," he began removing his orange glove. "My hand is dry, I get water on it, it becomes wet."

He dipped his hand in the water and pulled it out for us to see.

"Can it be dried? Absolutely. Therefore was wet it is now dry," he explained. Using the same hand, he scooped a small puddle of water.

"The water in my hand, however. Can it be dried?"

"Hey man, I think we get it now," Static mumbled.

"Absolutely the hell not!" he ignored. "Ending clause: The definition of wet reads _'Covered or saturated with water or another liquid'._ Water cannot be covered or saturated with itself. Thank you."

A silence fell among us. The hero just stood there panting heavily with sweat dripping down his face. I couldn't tell if it was because of the summer heat or he was so invested in his explanation. Maybe it was a mixture of both.

Static rolled her eyes.

"You stole that entire speech from the internet!" she said.

"But it's right, is it not?!" the Masterbaiter remarked.

"Okay... That makes sense," the villain holding Himawari and I remarked.

The hero held hands out in his direction while giving Static an "I told you so" look.

I let out a sigh.

And I thought Strawberry Shades was a sucky hero. These two are even worse.

"See? He agrees with me," he said. "Now you better go explain to your friend Strawshitty Shades that water isn't wet."

Speak of the devil. These two know him.

"You guys know Strawberry Shades?" I asked.

They both turned to me.

"Unfortunately, yes," the Masterbaiter said.

"He's part of our agency," Static added.

Agency? If I remember right, Strawberry Shades isn't a licensed hero. That's why he was always scramming before the police arrived. If he's part of the same group as these two people, then that means...

"So you guys are vigilantes then," I concluded.

The Masterbaiter frowned.

"Technically yes, but I dislike that term."

I thought those two boys from before were long gone but it turns out that they were still there. I don't know whether it was because they were too stunned to move or not, but the bald one finally spoke up.

"I don't care what you guys are! Just save us already!" he exclaimed.

Upon saying that, the octopus man turned around to face the two boys.

"While I'm at it, I might as well take you guys too!"

With two of his tentacles, he simultaneously grabbed the boys. The bald one started shrieking for help while his blond friend's face went pale. The bald one was too afraid to move so the villain was able to scoop him up easily. Meanwhile, the other guy finally kicked back to his senses and tried to escape. It was no use though. The villain was about to make his move when a surge of electrical discharges from the blond kid's body.

In that half a second, the villain's tentacles around my arms loosened for a moment. That gave me the chance to pull my right arm out and reach out to Himawari, who was about to receive the full impact of the shock. I wasn't sure how that was going to prevent her from being electrocuted since we were all wet, but it just happened on instinct. I shut my eyes.

Everyone in the vicinity was shocked. As the others erupted in screams feeling the shock, I only let out a small grunt. I felt really tingling especially in my fingers. Surprisingly it didn't hurt as much as I expected, but that's not to say that it didn't hurt at all.

The villain holding us hostage let out a cry of pain. His tentacles gave out and I splashed down in the water below.

When my bare feet hit the sand, my knees buckled and my head went under. I struggled to keep my head up. Even underwater, I can feel my knees shaking. My left arm was sore, and I could hardly move the other. My arms flailed as much as my body allowed them to, as water flooded into my nose.

This is stupid. There's only about 3 feet of water, and I'm drowning? Is this really how I'm going to go out?

I realized that since the villain dropped me, he must've dropped everyone else, including Himawari. She won't be able to stay afloat with only one arm floatie. She'll drown.

I could hardly see with all the splashing that was happening around me. I saw a glimpse of the bald kid flailing his arms in the water. His friend, which was the one who used his quirk, was just peacefully floating there with his thumbs up. It sounded like those vigilantes were actually trying to be helpful for once because I heard them trying to apprehend the tentacle villain. There was no way they were going to have time to rescue Himawari.

Forget it. Who cares if I drown?

**I need to save her.**

"H-Hima...wa..wari!" I gurgled as more and more water splashed in my face. With all the strength I could muster, I forced my shaking legs to move. As I did, I felt a sharp pain erupt in both my legs, but I didn't care. I needed to save Himawari.

"R-rin!" I heard her say amidst all the chaos. "He..help!"

I managed to catch a quick look at her, whose head was practically underwater. Seeing her tiny body thrashing helplessly as she sinks made a pit form in my stomach. It made me want to throw up.

**Why won't my quirk come out?**

My head began to really hurt now. There was a ringing in my ear that started to grow louder. Because of that, my movements began to stiffen. My head slowly began to sink. For a split second, I swore I saw Hiro frantically swimming over to us. Just as my head was submerged, I heard a loud splash as if someone fell into the water, from Himawari's direction and from behind. Then, I heard a cry.

"Rin!"

I was only underwater for two seconds when I felt a pair of hands pull me up. I was shoved onto something that was afloat. I let out a coughing fit, as I lay on whatever surface I was on. My entire body was shaking from stress.

Ah, crap. I can't even move anymore.

Since my eyes were facing up, I couldn't see who joined the battle. I definitely heard those two vigilantes from earlier battling the octopus man, but I also heard Hiro calling out to me. There were also two new voices; one voice I didn't recognize who spoke in a polite manner, and a familiar strident voice near me.

"Phew! That was a close one!" he said. The face of a dark-skinned man wearing a whimsical strawberry hat appeared in my tunnel of vision.

Huh? It's this guy? What's Strawberry Shades doing here?

"Hey! We need some help over here!" I heard the Masterbaiter yell from afar.

"Got it!" Strawberry Shades replied. Promptly after that, he disappeared from my view.

The voices around me began to blend together as my vision got hazy. I was getting very lightheaded. Within a minute, everything went black.

»»—- —-««

"You saved us! Th-thank you!"

The civilians flooded toward the group of vigilantes. The octopus villain they were battling was effectively knocked out cold with the combined strength of the four of them. They didn't bother wrapping the villain up; Static's quirk was able to nullify any of his movements if he were to awaken.

Strawberry Shades let out a booming laugh.

"Haha! But of course! That villain was a piece of cake!" he said. "He was no match for me!"

Upon saying that, his cloaked comrade angrily smacked him in the back of the head.

"Shut your mouth! It's your fault that he managed to grab me!" he exclaimed. "Do you know how slimy his tentacles were?"

"Yeah, man," Static said, joining into the conversation. She casually placed her elbow on the Masterbaiter's shoulder. "One wrong move and this could've turned into a hentai."

The Masterbaiter began to argue with her again as she nonchalantly muted his lecture out. Strawberry Shades shrugged it off; Static enjoyed pissing him off. This always happened whenever they were together.

"Pardon me, but I think it will be a wise decision to leave. The police should be arriving anytime soon," his other comrade, Blackjack, suggested. Reaching up to his ears, he clicked on the micro radio that was created into an earpiece.

"Furutani, we are ready."

Clicking his earpiece again, he dusted off his white fedora. He turned to Strawberry Shades.

"Furutani should be arriving soon," he informed. "Also I should mention, you did a pleasant job out there. The boss would be pleased if she were present today."

Strawberry Shades' lips formed into a toothy grin.

"Ha! Just because I'm the new guy doesn't mean I'm gonna let you guys leave me in the dust!" he boasted.

"Perhaps."

Strawberry Shades peered over to the group of civilians who were involved in the attack. There was a young boy with shaved hair shaking his blond friend in a mixture of anger, frustration, and relief. His friend paid no attention to him. He wore a foolish look on his face and had both his thumbs up.

Apparently, he was the one who sent the electric surge that shocked everyone. What Strawberry Shades didn't understand is why nobody in the vicinity of the shock wasn't gravely injured or worse, dead. Based on what he saw as he and Blackjack were approaching the situation from afar, it looked like the voltage was high. Not to mention that they were surrounded by water.

His eyes landed on the other bunch which consisted of a little girl no older than five, a spectacled young man his age, and that middle schooler he kept running into. She was lying on a beach chair underneath an umbrella with a dazed look. There was a towel over her torso. The young man who was her brother was worriedly inspecting her while the little girl beside him was on the verge of tears. For a split second, his eyes locked on with Strawberry Shades. The look he gave him sent off a wave of mixed signals; the guy looked relieved yet contemptuous at the same time. Strawberry Shades didn't pay much attention to it because Furutani arrived.

"Well, it looks like we got to go now!" he announced to the crowd.

A wall of darkness appeared between the vigilantes and the people. Strawberry Shades felt one of Furutani's shadows wrap around his waist.

"Heyo Static, I gotta ask you something," he spoke.

Static, who was still being lectured by her angry comrade, gazed at him.

"What's up?" she asked.

"When that blondie used his quirk, I saw something weird going on," he started. "Right before the electricity struck, I'm pretty sure I saw it get pulled or something, 'cause it flew a good 400 ft away."

"Sorry bro, I have no idea what ya talking about."

Strawberry Shades shrugged it off.

Maybe his eyes were going out of wack. It didn't really matter since the day was saved. He had more pressing matters to worry about, such as how he left the oven on back home.

* * *

**Shoutout to r/copypasta for having Chaz Smith's speech**


	7. The Singing Showdown Part 1

My eyes fluttered open to the sight of very bright light. I had to squint my eyes as I groggily stood up from the ground.

I looked around me. My dad was lying on the ground beside me. Both his arms were sprawled out. He wasn't unconscious, but he was definitely out of it. He had a dazed look in his eyes. I noticed that there was a metal bracelet on his left wrist. There was also a round tag that had the number 2 on it. Seeing that, I peered down at my hands to see that I was wearing a matching bracelet. I also had on a tag that had the number three. I tried to play around with my bracelet to see if anything were to happen, and I felt a small zap erupt up my arm.

"Great... Now I have my own personal shock collar," I sighed but immediately regretted it when the sudden urge to cough came. I started to have a small coughing fit. The sounds of it bounced off the walls of the empty theater. I was able to regain my composure again and this time, I breathed out slowly. I can feel my hot breath gently touch my lips as my breathe got trapped in the facemask that I was wearing.

How do you even get sick in summer?

Next to Dad, was an all too familiar strawberry hero. He looked completely knocked out. His torso was twisted to the left with his right arm on his face and his left clutching his abdomen. His legs were crossed over one another. I saw a small stream of drool on the corner of his lips. He also wore a metal bracelet and a number tag.

This guy again? Why do I keep running into him all the time?

When I stood up, I saw that I was standing in the middle of a stage. Ahead of me was a fantastical blue table that was full of ribbons. It looked like one of those places where the judge stays during those singing shows. Behind that were rows of the theater seats. They were completely empty. There was an expensive-looking camera in front of the stage. The light was on which meant that the camera was recording.

Ah, great... Am I being held hostage again?

I heard the slight shuffling of my dad getting up. I glanced over to him as he slowly stood up from the ground. He tiredly rubbed the back of his neck as he stretched his back. He let out a tensed groan.

"Ah, what the hell... Where are we?" he mumbled. "All I remember was heading to your doctor's appointment when some gas came in."

I gave him a shrug. I inspected the room some more. As I did, I realized that Hiro wasn't here. Since I got sick, my dad scheduled an appointment with the doctor. It was supposed to be me and him going but Hiro insisted on coming. He was freaking out over it. I told him it wasn't anything bad but he still came anyway. He was always like that; he always treated me like I was some defenseless baby bird.

His mannerisms toward me were completely different from Dad's. Dad never complains about Mom or Hiro but when it gets to me, he's always ready to jump in and say something. I wouldn't say that he was terribly mean to me, but he wasn't nice either. He's just very strict and critical towards me. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining about him or declaring my hatred for him, but he and I weren't really on good terms. Dad never used to be like this. It only started when I got caught up in that villain attack a few years ago.

I guess I didn't mention it yet, but I got involved in a really messy situation when I was still in elementary. I know; I'm always getting into messy situations but this one was different. I almost died. And again, I know that I've had my share of encountering death but that time, I actually ended up in the hospital. No joke, I probably would've died if it weren't for this hero that saved me. She was the one who limited the impact of hitting the cement. I'm not sure how I survived falling from a 100ft building, but I think it had something to do with her quirk. The authorities didn't get to ask her about it because she disappeared before they even came. The only thing that was distinctive that I can remember about her was the long scar that ran across the right side of her lip. I was stuck in the hospital after that. So was my Dad, since he was there with me when it happened.

Anyway, enough about the past because I heard the sound of mechanical gears underneath me. The stage began to shake. It sounded like something was coming from below the stage.

I tried stepping off the stage, but I smacked my face against an invisible force field. Doing that also caused my bracelet to go off and I got zapped again.

"What's going on?" Dad demanded, slowly backing off the stage.

The area where Dad and I were lying on (and also where Strawberry Shades was), slowly opened up in a circular radius. I watched as Strawberry Shades's limp body drop into the dark abyss as the sound of gears grew louder. I watched as a smoky platform emerged from below. I saw the outline of a woman in the mist. The shape of stairs appeared from the edge of the platform. Then, it stopped.

Once the smoke cleared, I saw a young woman standing on the platform. She had on a fancy masquerade mask that had white jewels on them. Her outfit looked like something straight out of a magical girl or idol anime, as it was very girly and frilly. Her curly hair was pulled into a high ponytail. She had on bright pink lipstick. In her hands, was a sparkly microphone.

On the platform was Strawberry Shades who was somehow still unconscious. Seeing that, the idol girl pulled out a tiny remote from her dress pockets and pressed a button. That set his bracelet off, and he immediately woke up. The shock must've been strong because he let out a yelp. The girl then kicked him down the stairs with her shiny, thigh-high heels. He tumbled down each step before hitting the stage.

"Yeouch! What was that for?!" Strawberry Shades exclaimed, trying to pry the bracelet off. That only set it off again, and he got shocked a second time.

"Alrighty! All the contestants are up!" the idol girl announced, ignoring his screams. She was staring directly behind me, at the camera.

"Welcome, everyone! Although most of you watching know who am I, my name is Sonnet! If any of you want to make it out of here, you gotta woo the audience and receive enough votes to escape!"

I raised my hand, and said, "Uh, there isn't an audience. We're the only ones in here."

She let out a shrill laugh.

"Silly girl! There's a camera over there," she remarked. "Right now, all three of you are being live-streamed online."

Oh God... That means they saw me hit the invisible force field then. How awkward...

Dad stepped forward and pointed at her.

"Absolutely unacceptable!" he said. "I do not consent to this. Let us go, immediately."

Sonnet stifled out a snort.

"Or what? You're going to call the po-po? Just to inform you, I confiscated all your phones. Also, if any of you try to do anything, I'm going to have to electrocute not only all the contestants, but also that other guy that was with you."

"You took him?" Dad asked, with a hint of anger. "Let him go!"

He charged up the stairs but only got a couple of steps up when a burst of electricity erupted from his bracelet. He staggered down the stairs while he clutched his arm in pain.

Sonnet let out a weary sigh.

"Calm down a bit, won't you? I told you that if you tried anything, I was going to electrocute you," she warned. "I'll let this guy go too if you decide to compete, unfortunately. He's kind of cute. But we'll see."

Dad gritted his teeth. He opened his mouth to say something when I cut him off.

"I think we should listen to her," I suggested. "It'll make the whole process easier. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we get to leave, and the sooner we get to my doctor's appointment."

"That's what you're concerned about?" Dad said through his teeth.

Strawberry Shades stood up from the ground. He shrugged.

"Well, look at her. She looks like a train wreck," he commented. "I feel like if she touches me, I'll get the Coronavirus."

Our kidnapper let out a dramatic gasp. She turned toward the camera and said, "Did one of our contestants just make fun of the Coronavirus? And did you assume she had it because she's Asian?! You just lost ten votes!"

"Wait, what?" he said frantically. "Votes? G-give it back!"

She shook her head sadly.

"Sorry about that. You brought that upon yourself. Now you have zero votes."

"Z-zero?!"

I raised my hand again and spoke, "How many votes do we start off with, exactly?"

She peered down at me.

"Ten! Each contestant starts off with ten votes! But because Contestant Number 1 not only made a joke out of a deadly virus that was also racist, he lost all his votes."

"What?! Wack!" he exclaimed, slamming his foot.

I raised my hand again, and spoke, "So, how do we get more votes then?"

"Woo over the audience," she replied simply.

"Also, what type of competition are we competing in?"

"A singing one, of course!"

"What?" Dad, Strawberry Shades, and I all said in unison.

I pointed to myself.

"But I can't sing. I'm sick," I said.

Sonnet shrugged.

"That's just too bad!" she said. "Today, these three will be competing in a sing-off! Let's get on with the overview of the competition! The competition will consist of three rounds. The first round will be the Karaoke Battle! Let's go!"

Turning around, Sonnet not only began to go down on the platform that was disappearing back underneath the stage, but a giant screen appeared from the back wall. It snapped on. On the screen was the words _Round 1: Karaoke Battle. _

"Let's go!" Sonnet announced, suddenly sitting in her judging seat in front of us. "Here are the rules: Whoever gets the most votes for just this round will be considered the winner of this round. They will get an extra 10 points. Each contestant gets to keep the number of votes they get from this round to add to their final vote count. And whoever has the most votes by the end of the competition wins!"

"For this round, the rules are quite simple: each contestant will be randomly assigned a song that they must sing along with. The words will be on the screen for you. Do your best to get the most votes!"

"The first one up is Contestant Number 1!"

Immediately after saying that, the floor beneath snapped open. I fell down a dark tunnel until I landed on a soft mattress. I found myself in a dark lit room with Dad, who was ten feet away from me that was also on a mattress. A few feet ahead of me was a red sofa that was sitting in front of a screen.

"And now, it's time to pick your song!" I heard Sonnet announce from the tv.

Dad and I got up from our mattresses to watch the tv. The tv showed what I was assuming, what the audience saw. It showed the stage with the giant screen on the wall. The screen was shuffling through song titles so quickly that it was impossible to read them. Meanwhile, Strawberry Shades stood there with an excited look on his face.

"Isn't he supposed to be the hero? Why isn't he getting us out of this situation?" Dad mumbled bitterly. "And why is he looking forward to this, too?"

The screen on the stage stopped. On it, read _We Belong Together by Mariah Carey_.

"Oooh! Right off the bat, Strawberry Shades was selected to sing an English song!" Sonnet announced with a wince. "Not to mention, a female song sang by Mariah Carey! That must be rough!"

At first, I thought Strawberry Shades was going to burst into tears upon seeing the song he had to sing, but instead, he let out a loud cackle. Grabbing his tacky cape, he flung it dramatically in the air.

"Hehehe... You dare underestimate my power?" he asked. A mic on a stand appeared from the floor in front of him just as the instrumentals started kicking in. The screen behind him switched to karaoke mode. The sound of a piano started playing and shortly after, the smooth vocalizing of Strawberry Shades.

**"Oh... ooh.. ooh.. ooh..."**

"Oooh sugar cookies!" Sonnet hyped. "He actually sounds good!"

** "Oh-oh, o-o-oh oooh... Sweet love.. Yeah.."**

"He actually does...?" Dad muttered in utter shock.

**"I didn't mean it  
When I said I didn't love you, so  
I should have held on tight  
I never shoulda let you go  
I didn't know nothing  
I was stupid, I was foolish  
I was lying to myself."**

"Waah?! His English is amazing!" Sonnet exclaimed.

**"I could not fathom that I would ever  
Be without your love  
Never imagined I'd be  
Sitting here beside myself  
'Cause I didn't know you  
'Cause I didn't know me  
But I thought I knew everything  
I never felt..."**

"Oh, what the heck? He actually sounds good..." I said to myself. I would've never expected for someone like..._him_ to be actually talented in something. His voice was husky and sweet sounding. Dad and I continued to listen to his singing with keen ears.

**"The feeling that I'm feeling  
Now that I don't hear your voice  
Or have your touch and kiss your lips  
'Cause I don't have a choice  
Oh, what I wouldn't give  
To have you lying by my side  
Right here, cause baby...**

**When you left I lost a part of me  
It's still so hard to believe  
Come back baby, please  
'Cause we belong together."**

"Wow! Despite his goofy and overall, idiotic appearance, Strawberry Shades has talent!" Sonnet exclaimed.

**"Who else am I gon' lean on  
When times get rough  
Who's gonna talk to me on the phone  
Till the sun comes up  
Who's gonna take your place  
There ain't nobody better  
Oh, baby baby, we belong together."**

His voice went up a higher octave. It didn't sound bad, in fact, it made his performance even better.

**"When you left I lost a part of me  
It's still so hard to believe  
Come back Hanna, ****_please_****  
'Cause we belong together!"**

As he hit that high note perfectly, I swore I saw a tear slip down his cheek. And, did he just say Hanna?

**"Who am I gonna lean on  
When times get rough  
Who's gonna talk to me  
Till the sun comes up  
Who's gonna take your place**

**There ain't nobody better **

**OH BABY, HANNA**

**WE BELONG TOGETHERRRRRRRR!"**

As the song slowly ended, Strawberry Shades was kneeling on the stage with the mic in his hands. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, as he started to rant about this "Hanna" girl. I couldn't really understand what he was saying since he was speaking in English, but I did manage to catch that Hanna was his ex. Even as the instrumental completely faded, he was still going on a tangent.

"Er... It seems like our contestant really sympathizes with the song," Sonnet quietly spoke. "Well, onto the next contestant!"

The floor beneath him opened up and he tumbled down. Shortly after, I heard Strawberry Shades land on a mattress.

"Okay! Contestant Number 2! You're up!"

The ceiling above us opened up. There was a platform that appeared.

"Uh, you should probably go up. It's your turn," I told Dad.

He folded his arms.

"Hell no. I'm not going up there."

"But she said that if we want to leave, we gotta-"

"I know!" he hollered. He let out a groan and stomped his way over to the platform. It started to rise up to the stage and soon enough, he was back on stage.

As Dad picked the next song, I decided to check up on Strawberry Shades. And I gotta say, he looked really screwed up over that song. His nose was full of snot and his cheeks were stained with tears.

"Uh...it's okay," I said, trying my best to comfort him. "You must've really liked that girl..."

"Yes! I really did!" he exclaimed. "She was an angel. She was my light to the darkness; my yin to my yang; my strawberry to my shades."

I stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"...Okay."

"_Okay?!_"

I scratched my cheek.

"Um, I don't really understand your sorrows," I said honestly. "I've never dated anyone... I've never liked someone. But... If it makes you feel better, you're actually good at singing. You may be a useless hero, but you're not a useless singer."

Ah, crap. I didn't mean to phrase it like that.

Strawberry Shades sniffed sadly.

"I'm not sure if that was s'posed to be a compliment or an insult..."

I tried my best to diffuse the awkward tension.

"Uh, well, I mean... Your singing is good. Like, you sound like...that one guy," I pathetically said.

Hearing that, Strawberry Shades's previous glum expression turned into a joyous one. There was an edge of confidence in his voice as he spoke to me.

"Heh... But of course, my singing is great. My wonderful father was on Broadway," he replied. "He taught me everything to know about singing."

"Your English is pretty good too," I added. "You sound like an American."

"That's because I am American!"

I inspected his face for a moment.

I guess that makes sense now that I think about it. He had a small accent whenever he spoke; not a regional one found in Japan. It was more of an accent coming from someone whose first language wasn't Japanese. Besides, he did look a bit different. His skin was tan and darker than most Japanese. I guess I never really considered him being a foreigner until now. With the emergence of quirks, identifying people on where they came from based on their looks got harder.

"Who'd you learn Japanese from?" I asked.

"My mother!" he said, proudly. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm half-Japanese."

I rubbed my chin while nodding my head in realization.

"Oh, okay. That's why you have a slight accent whenever you speak."

I totally forgot that Dad was next up on the stage to sing until I heard the sounds of the instrumentals of Darude Sandstorm start playing. I looked over at the tv in front of me to see Dad standing there awkwardly. His body posture was completely stiff and his face was contorted into a frown.

What? He's singing Darude Sandstorm? How do you even sing that song?

The lyrics on the screen on the stage kicked in. Seeing them, I raised an eyebrow.

Dad opened his mouth to sing.

"Dududududududududududududu

du du du du dudududu

du dududududududu

dudududududududududududududududududu

dududududududud

du du dudududududu

dududududu

Dududududududududududududu

du du du du dudududu

du dududududududu

dudududududududududududududududududu

dududududududud

du du dudududududu

dududududu..."

For a solid three minutes, that is all he sang. I don't know about Strawberry Shades, but I was cringing throughout the entire performance. I kind of felt bad for him. And once the song ended, Dad stood there on the stage with his face sweating.

"Ouch. That was not a good performance," Sonnet winced.

Dad angrily pointed his finger at her and shouted, "BS! You gave me this song! How else am I supposed to sing it when there are no words?"

"Hey, it's not my fault. You just got unlucky."

Dad slammed his mic on the floor and knocked over the mic stand. It let out an ear-piercing screeching. He started making his way toward the camera.

"I demand a do-over! Right now!" he demanded.

Before he can walk off the stage, his face hit the invisible force field that surrounded the stage, and his bracelet went off. I watched as Dad's body collapsed on the stage from the impact of hitting the force field and feeling the shock. He let out cries of pain as he continued to complain about his terrible song. The floor beneath him opened up, and he landed back under the stage with us.

"Sorry for the technical difficulties!" Sonnet said to the audience watching the Livestream. "Anway, let's get on with the show! Next up, Contestant Number 3!"

The ceiling opened up again, and the platform appeared.

"It's your cue!" Strawberry Shades said, nudging me.

"Rin, get out of the way," Dad said, jumping up from the mattress and sprinting toward the platform. However, he was stopped when Strawberry Shades wrapped his arms around him and held him back.

"What are you doing? Let me go this instance!" Dad exclaimed, flailing his legs.

"No can do, sir! Please refrain from kicking. You might injure yourself!" Strawberry Shades replied calmly.

Dad continued to rebel as I slowly rose up to the stage. Soon enough, I arrived and the floor closed. I couldn't hear him anymore.

"Ahem. Do you mind picking up the microphone and the stand Contestant Number 2 kicked?" Sonnet asked me.

"Uh... I guess..." I muttered bending down. I let out a loud cough that echoed through the entire theater. It was very uncomfortable. I shakily set the microphone stand back up and place the mic on the stand.

"Alright! It's time to pick your song!" she continued. The screen behind me began to shuffle through a song list. About 30 seconds passed when it stopped. The song title glimmered on the screen as confetti appeared in the background.

"_The Day by Porno Graffiti!_ A high spirited song that can definitely be used as an opening for an anime about a young boy who wants to become a hero!" Sonnet announced. "Leeeet's get on with it! Cue the music!"

The sound of an electric guitar started playing. Within the first 7 seconds, song lyrics already appeared on the screen. I didn't even have time to think about how bad I was going to perform because I immediately started singing.

"Shizukesa ga shimikomu you de iki wo tometa gozen goji  
Hijou kaidan de tsume wo kamu asu wa docchi da? THE DAY HAS COOOOOOME!"

Within a second of singing that last line, my throat tightened up and I let out a coughing fit. I coughed nearly the entire time during the little instrumental between the opening lyrics and the first verse. It was not a good idea for me to be singing right since I'm sick, especially this song. But I had no choice if I wanted to save Hiro.

Well technically, Strawberry Shades could probably do something to get us out of this situation but I wasn't counting on it.

"Keshite akenai yoru mo furitsuzukete yamanai ame mo  
Kono roku demo nai sekai ni wa arunda yo.

Hitori kuusou ni asobu soko de omoi egaita koto made hajiru no kai?"

I let out another cough. But because I did, I was late on started the next line.

"Karamiau meikyuu meikyuu soredemo yuku to iu no?  
Chiisaki tabibito ga kanaderu hajimari no kane no ne..."

"Hm! A little late on starting," Sonnet remarked.

" Yukuate mo DON'T KNOW DON'T KNOW hontou wa kowai'n ja nai no?  
Fumidasu sono ippo ippo ga kaete yukeru sa..."

Oh gosh. The hard part was coming up.

I took a deep breath preparing to completely destroy my throat and voice.

"THE DAY HAS COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME!"

I couldn't even hear the instrumentals because I was coughing the entire time. My throat was on fire and every time I tried to breathe, it just made me cough even more. By the time the song ended, I finished my coughing fit. My chest was hurting.

"What do you think, guys? She did decent enough, considering that she's ill," Sonnet said. She stared at me and scrunched up her nose. "I may need to sanitize the mic though. We don't want to spread germs."

I heard the floor begin to rumble again. It started to open up. I jumped to the side as I watched Dad and Strawberry Shades slowly rise up from below.

The screen behind us changed. It showed three numbers, 1-3, that corresponded with the tags we got. Contestant Number 1, aka Strawberry Shades, had 0 votes. Dad and I had 10.

"Now, it's time to see how many votes each contestant got!" Sonnet announced, jumping from her seat. She was able to walk through the force field with ease; maybe it had something to do with her quirk?

She sauntered over to the three of us. She held her hand out to the screen as our numbers changed.

"Wow! Contestant Number 1 received 128 votes! His wonderful cover of _We Belong Together _must've really wooed over the crowd, and maybe even me!" Sonnet exclaimed.

Strawberry Shades pushed up his cat-eyed sunglasses with a smirk on his face.

"Hehe! As expected!" he chirped.

"Meanwhile, Contestant Number 2 only received 7 votes... I guess his performance was pretty dull."

Hearing that, Dad pointed his finger at her in anger.

"The song I had to sing had no words! How else was I supposed to sing it!"

Sonnet ignored him and continued.

"Last and not least, Contestant Number 3! She received 15 votes!"

Oh wow. I actually got some votes. I guess people actually liked my performance. Or maybe they felt bad for me because I was sick, so they gave me some extra votes.

Our points on the screen added the extra votes to our beginning number. Strawberry Shade was in the first place and followed after, and Dad was last.

"Alllllright! Contestant Number 1 now has a total of 138 votes, since he received the most votes in the round! Contestant Number 2 unfortunately only has a total of 17 votes, and Contestant Number 3 has 25 votes!" she said. "Although Contestant Number 1 was at rock bottom, he has risen to the top!"

If Strawberry Shades was already cocky, he got even cockier. Place his hands on his hips and throwing his head back, he cackled boldly. Meanwhile, Dad was still complaining about how he got ripped off and I stood there with my head ringing. The giant stage lights weren't making my headache any better.

With her free arm, Sonnet held her hand out to show us off.

"And now! It is time for round 2!" she said. "Round 2: Rewrite that Song! The rules are simple: each contestant will be randomly assigned a song. They have to rewrite the lyrics to that song, and perform it! Whoever makes the best song wins!"

Our vote counts underneath our numbers disappeared. Instead, a song title appeared. Strawberry Shades got _Renai Circulation,_ Dad got _Unravel, _and I got _Fighting Gold_.

"You all will get ten minutes to rewrite your song," she informed. "And without further ado, let's get writing! In the meantime, I will do a Q&A!"

Without warning, the platform underneath us started to sink down. As it did, I heard her add on something.

"I almost forgot! Whoever has the most points after this round gets to leave!"

"What? That's unfair! This strawberry weirdo has way more votes than us!" Dad hollered just as the ceiling closed.

For a moment, the three of us stood there in silence. We saw Sonnet behind interacting with the Livestream, as she answered questions about herself. It wasn't after a minute until Strawberry Shades gave us a reassuring thumbs up and said,

"Fear not! I, Strawberry Shades, will definitely come back for you when I win!"

He started getting lectured by Dad after saying that. As he did, I noticed that Hiro's face was plastered on the screen on the stage. He was lying on a comfy-looking bed. His hands and legs were tied down to the white bedposts. He wore an anime eyes sleeping mask. It looked like he was unconscious.

I don't have time to be dealing with this. I need to hurry up and write this song and save him.

I noticed there was a pen and pencil lying a table that definitely wasn't there when I left. I picked the pencil up.

So, I gotta rewrite _Fighting Gold, _huh?

I smiled nervously.

I can probably do this. How hard could it be?


	8. The Singing Showdown Part 2

"A question from BigdaddyJoe: _'Can you show us your feet?' _For the last time, I'm not showing you my feet," Sonnet remarked in exasperation. "I'm not selling my bathtub water either, so bug off!"

She let out a tired sigh and looked up at the camera.

"Anyway, that's the end of the Q&A! Thank you for all the questions! Now it's time for our contestants to come up on the stage."

I was sitting understage watching the tiny tv in front of us. Knowing how well Strawberry Shades sang, Dad and I both knew that we had no hope of escaping this round. It was basically definite that he was leaving. At least when he leaves, he'll be able to finally save us. I can think of all the chances he had that he could've used to help us escape, especially the time when Sonnet was introducing us, but he never used them. I can't tell if he's just an airhead and he didn't notice or he purposely got us stuck in this situation to show off his talent. Besides, we were being live-streamed so it kinda makes sense why he would stay.

"I am so behind schedule today... I don't have time for this..." Dad mumbled under his breath. "If only there was an exit somewhere..."

He was pacing around the room trying to find some sort of way to escape. However, I doubt there were any secret exits and when I told him that, he wasn't too happy with my response.

"Just come and sit down and watch the show," I suggested. "There's no exit. If there were, we would be long gone."

"At least try, would you?" Dad remarked in frustration. "Damn it, this bracelet is so annoying!"

He tried to pry it off.

"Uh, you probably shouldn't do that-"

Before I can finish, a zap of electricity ran up his arm. He let out a yelp. That only made his mood even worse because to let out a slur of curses.

I noticed that there are three types of people when being held under a villain. The first one is the kind who is scared out of their wits. They are the ones who are too busy being scared to do anything. The second is people like Dad, who are angry and confused. They put up a front to mask their fear and anxiety. The third type of people are less common and make up a small percentage. They are the people who not only fight back but put themselves before others. In other words, they're like Midoriya during that sludge incident; like a hero.

I'm not really scared nor angry. Sure, there are moments when my anxiety levels rise and when I get annoyed, but it's nothing too drastic. I'm not heroic either. I try to help out as best as I can but I usually just end up causing more problems. I'm not sure which category I fall into, actually.

"Now, welcome onstage, Contestant Number 1!" I heard Sonnet announce from the tv. "Singing a rewritten version of _Renai Circulation_!"

She moved out of the way as Strawberry Shades emerged from below. The lights dimmed and Sonnet retreated into the darkness.

Strawberry Shades held up his slip of paper with his lyrics. He whispered into the mic.

"One ~ two!"

The sounds of an electric piano started playing.

_"I bet you must be wondering  
I bet you must be thinking  
How I came up with my hero name:  
Strawberry Shades!"_

Just as the beat kicked in, a surge of electricity erupts out of his metal wristband. It must have been really strong because he practically fell over. He let out a high-pitched shriek.

"Oops! Wrong button!" Sonnet remarked.

Meanwhile, Strawberry Shades was crouching over and groaning in pain as the peppy and upbeat music blasted through the speakers.

"**Mother trucker, dude! That hurt like a butt cheek on a stick!**" he winced in English. He was breathing heavily. Nevertheless, he continued on with the show, but in a more strained voice.

_"In West Philadelphia, not born in raised and I wanted  
to become the best hero  
so I trained and trained and pretty soon  
and wow! I became a hero!_

_The problem was I didn't have a name  
What would match me the best? I didn't know  
Maybe something cool sounding like Hawkeye  
But the thing is that my quirk doesn't match!"_

"What? Is this supposed to be his origin story?" I heard Dad mutter from behind. I guess he finally decided to come and watch...

_"Day and day I thought, day and day I dreamed  
What would be the perfect hero  
name for somebody  
me_

_Day and day I thought, day and day I dreamed  
Then finally, it came  
to me  
Strawberry Shades_

_Why? Because I love wearing shades  
It serves as a good sun blockade  
My quirk matches perfectly too  
I can make strawberries_

_I bet you must be wondering  
I bet you must be thinking  
How I came up with the hero name:  
Strawberry Shades_

_Since I like wearing my shades  
Since I spit strawberry seeds  
I know that my name had to be  
Strawberry Shades!"_

Not gonna lie, that song was kind of stupid. But hey, he did more than I did with mine. Also, at least I have some insight into what his quirk is. He's been in 4 chapters and his quirk still hasn't been revealed. It's probably because the author keeps forgetting to utilize it in the story.

"Not as great as his last performance, but oh well," Sonnet commented, as she walked back onstage.

Strawberry Shades held up his wristband as tears trickled down his cheek.

"It's 'cause you shocked me! If you didn't, I would've done better!" he whined.

She shrugged.

"Hey, it's not my fault. You just got unlucky."

"Th-that's what you said to the other guy!"

"The old man?"

"I'm not an old man!" Dad remarked, violently shaking the screen.

"What? How old are you?" I asked. "Aren't you like fifty?"

"I'm forty-four!"

I heard the sounds of the ceiling opening up. Turning around, I spotted Strawberry Shades standing on the platform that was descending. He hung his head low. It looked like he was bummed out over his performance.

"Who the heck does she think she is, calling me old..." Dad gruffly said pushing the sad strawberry off of the platform.

"Uh, good luck, out there," I said to him as the platform went up. I tried to sound genuine but it turned out more sarcastic. Hearing my accidental rude tone didn't help his mood one bit.

"You're grounded," he said to me just as the ceiling closed.

"I was only trying to be nice..." I mumbled to myself. I let out a cough.

I gazed over to Strawberry Shades. He was still upset over his mediocre performance. He was sitting in the corner of the room on the floor with his knees up to his chest. His head was hanging down.

"Your performance wasn't even that bad..." I said to in exasperation. Why did I have to be stuck with two moody men?

The announcer blared on the tv. It was time for Dad to sing his rewritten version of Unravel.

It was silent on stage. Dad stood there with a shadow over his face. With his graying hair, his receding hairline and pale skin, he looked a bit sinister; like an evil dark mage from a video game.

He sang.

_"Oh please just tell me what the hell I am doing here?  
Where's the police? They need to get here  
I've had a really tough and long day, can I just go home?  
My errands for today, I'm not even halfway."_

A split second piano solo chimed in. Shortly after, the sounds of a guitar and the clashing of drums blasted. It sounded like the embodiment of an edgy middle schooler who thinks that they're deep and not like other kids because they watch Tokyo Ghoul.

Dad continued.

_"Because of you, I probably missed Rin's appointment_

_Screw you."_

"Hey!" Sonnet exclaimed in offense upon hearing that.

_"I still need to go shopping and buy some ranch dressing  
and pick up my car from the shop_

_I'm so damn busy today, and now I'm behind  
Before this mess, my day was going fine  
Everything is your damn fault, and I'm not_

_a freeloader, I don't have time to waste  
Your entire show is a damn disgrace  
It's time to grow up and get a real job."_

I coughed.

Ouch. That was brutal.

Crumbling up his piece of paper, he chucked it to the floor. He stomped down on it with his foot. Then, he gazed up at the camera with a dark look.

"And to all the people watching this, I meant it for you too."

Immediately after saying that, his metal bracelet goes off and he gets electrocuted. I think there was even more voltage to it this time because he fell down. The platform began to descend as Dad cursed to himself.

"Oops. Wrong button," Sonnet said smugly.

Dad appeared back understage. He was lying on the platform with a dazed look in his eyes.

"Uh, you alright?" I asked.

"Do I look alright to you?"

"...Not really. I kind of need you to get up, though. It's my turn to go up."

Surprisingly, he didn't get angry when I said that. Instead, he groggily got up from the ground and walked over to the couch that was in front of the tv. He collapsed on it as I went upstage.

He's not doing so hot. I'm not either. My head hurts.

Upon the stage, the bright lights blinded me. I had to squint. Sonnet was sitting in her usual spot in front of the stage and next to the camera.

"Contestant Number 3! She will be singing her rewritten work of _Fighting Gold!_" she announced in a shrill voice.

I winced to myself.

Can she talk any louder...?

I pulled out the folded slip of paper out of my sweater pocket. As I did, I let out a giant sneeze. The mic in front caught the noise and blasted my watery sneeze throughout the hall. I saw Sonnet give me a disgusted look.

I sniffed.

"S-sorry..." I mumbled.

The song started. A guitar played.

I coughed.

It played again.

I took a deep breath.

This is going to be terrible.

I started.

_"I wasn't really sure what to write  
Hopefully, the song sounds alright  
I was never good at doing this..."_

I tried my best not to pay attention to Sonnet's laser stare but it was hard. It was hot up here too, and I was sweating.

_"Even if the revision sounds okay  
My performance might kinda suck  
Because this song is overplayed_

_Besides I'm feeling sick, my throat is on fire. Right now I can hardly sing  
I really have to sneeze too, I think I have the flu  
My head is throbbing and spinning..."_

I cleared my sore throat the best that I could within that 3-second span before the chorus.

_"Fighting Cold  
I'm about to cough, my nose won't stop running and I  
don't have any tissue on hand. You should probably sanitize  
You don't wanna get what I have, it hurts whenever I speak  
How do I even get sick in June?_

_Fighting Cold!"_

"Wow. That was great!" Sonnet exclaimed giving me a thumbs-up. "I think I know which performance was my favorite!"

She actually liked it?

After that, she brought everyone up on the stage to announce the winner of this round and to distribute votes.

"Contestant Number 1 received 69 votes!"

Strawberry Shades pushed his sunglasses up with a smirk.

"Nice!" he said.

"Meanwhile, Contestant Number 2 only has 3 votes..."

Dad started muttering under his breath as she moved on to me.

"Contestant Number 3... 78 votes!"

The screen behind us turned on with our total votes.

"Contestant Number 1 has a total of 207 votes, Contestant Number 2 has 20, and Contestant Number 3 has 93 votes. However, since she received the most votes for this round, she gets an extra 10 points!" Sonnet said. "She now has a total of 103 votes!"

"Huh?" I breathed in confusion. I actually won the round?

Sonnet clapped her hands in glee.

"There, there! You did great! However, not great enough!" she said. She held her hand out toward Strawberry Shades.

"Contestant Number 1 gets to go out of the competition!"

Finally. Then maybe we can get out of here if he dos something.

"However!" she started. "Contestant Number 1 will be the judge of the final round. He will determine which contestant gets to get out of here."

"What do you mean?" Dad asked.

Sonnet turned to him. She smiled brightly.

"The final round is the Freestyle Rap Battle. You two will be going up against each other."

"...What?" I said astonished. "We're going to have...a rap battle?"

She nodded.

"Yep! A rap battle!"

This is by far the oddest villain encounter I ever had.

Strawberry Shades was shooed off the stage. He sat down on one of the empty seats in the auditorium. He looked pretty hyped for our rap battle.

"Uh... Aren't you supposed to be saving us?" I remarked.

"I wanna watch the rap battle first," he replied. "It's gonna be crazy!"

He is by far the most useless hero I ever met.

"Also, while we're at it..." Sonnet started. She clicked a button on her remote and the screen behind us changed. It showed Hiro on the screen who was still knocked out. However, it looked like he was somewhat conscious because I can see him mumbling to himself.

"Might as well have this cutie watch too!"

I pointed at the screen.

"But he's blindfolded."

"Er, you know what I mean."

I stared at Hiro.

I hope he's okay. He should be but seeing him look vulnerable made me uncomfortable. The most I can do is do this rap battle so I can return at least one favor that I owed him.

I gazed over at Dad. He stood there with his hands folded across his chest. He wore his unwavering look of an RBF. His chapped lips were curled down into a frown, as his thick eyebrows were rested close to his dark violet eyes.

I don't really want to have a rap battle, especially with him. My life may end if I mutter the smallest diss out of my mouth.

"Alllllright! Let's start the music!" Sonnet exclaimed excitedly. She clicked another button on her remote, but nothing happened. She tried again and again, but it wasn't working. There was no music.

"Sugar cookies! I think the track broke..." she mumbled.

Strawberry Shades jumped up from his seat. He ran up the stage, but he must've forgotten about the invisible wall so he hit it. There was a loud _slap!_

"Yeouch! Can you disable that?" he said, turning to Sonnet.

"Um, I guess..." Sonnet replied.

There was virtually no way I could tell if she disabled it or not. It turns out she did because he was able to get upstage with his. He stood in between us. Then he opened his mouth and started beatboxing.

Sonnet's face lit up with immeasurable glee. Her eyes sparkled.

"Oh my! Beatboxing as the backtrack? Why didn't I think of that?"

Pulling out two more sparkly mics from... God knows where, she handed it to Dad and me. She positioned herself away from the rest of us. She stayed near the wall of the stage as she announced the start of the last round.

"The rules of this round is pretty pretty simple,

whoever raps the worst rhymes are in a pickle fickle,

the winner gets to leave and please be civil,

now let's begin this battle round with my signal!"

She extended her arm out to me signaling me to start. I started to sweat.

Why me? Why do I have to go first?

I nervously glanced at her, to Strawberry Shades, to Dad, and to the camera that was streaming the competition.

The sooner you do it, the sooner you get to leave.

Then I took a deep breath. I held the mic up to my mouth.

"Uh, um, hey, I guess I'm on a stage

Not sure what's really happening, but I guess that's a-okay

First of all, let me install, I'm feeling kind of sick

Not 'cause of the flu but 'cause my rap beats are slick!"

I cringed so hard after saying that last line that I started coughing. However, it seems like Sonnet liked it because she let out a cry of energy.

"Oh my! How unexpected!" she hollered. "How will Contestant Number 2 respond?"

We all looked over at Dad to wait for his response. However, he didn't do anything. He stood there with his arms crossed.

"Uh, Dad, I think she wants you to go," I informed.

"I'm not doing this," he said stubbornly. "This whole thing is childish."

Upon saying that, he, Hiro, and I all got shocked. Dad let out a swear, Hiro let out a sharp yelp, and I winced. This time it actually hurt. But I think the electric currents did something to Dad's head because his previous slumped posture straightened up. His dead eyes glowed and I swore his pale skin started to color. He started rapping his lines.

_"You say you're feeling sick huh? Don't even get me started_

_The verses spitting outta my mouth ain't for the fainthearted_

_You're feeling sick, not 'cause your lines are slick_

_I'll tell you the answer_

_It's 'cause your lines are cancer!"_

Hearing that, Sonnet let out a loud gasp. Screaming into the mic, she said, "OooooH! Contestant Number 2 has some lines!"

Ow. That kind of hurt. I was trying to make this rap battle centered on making me look better than him by complimenting myself, but it seems like Dad was out to get me. I tried to diffuse the situation.

"Oh, dang, ouch

I thought this was s'posed to be friendly

I didn't really think that you would actually roast me

I'm not really sure what to say honestly

Except for the fact that you scream like Bruce Lee!"

Immediately after saying that, I regretted it. I didn't mean to diss him but I think I caught in the heat of the moment that it just slipped out. Dad didn't look too happy either. I can tell that a big storm was coming. I braced myself.

_"You think you can defeat me?_

_Please, don't make me laugh_

_I'll rip your entire body apart _

_and split you into halves_

_You know can't keep up with me_

_So don't even try_

_I'm a stinging bee_

_and you're a just fragile butterfly!"_

Ah, shoot. I don't think I can get out of this anymore. He was already pissed. When he's pissed, there's no escape. I opened my mouth to speak when he cut me off.

_"Now that I think about it, this is your fault_

_You're the reason that we're here_

_and why my deeds are at a halt_

_Maybe if you sanitized every day after school_

_I wouldn't have wasted my cash,_

_get gased,_

_get trapped,_

_get stuck here_

_with a pain in my ass_

_in this fucking dumpster trash!"_

Sonnet let out another shrill cry. Meanwhile, Strawberry Shades sped up with his beat as the atmosphere got heavier. Dad stared at me with a fire in his eyes. He wasn't backing down; he was angry at me.

I was beginning to grow annoyed with everything going on around me. The bright lights, the smell of dust, the mugginess, the beatboxing, my sore throat, my pounding headache, and Dad's lecture... Why can't everything stop?

**I don't think I can do this anymore.**

I hung my head down low. Strawberry Shades stopped. Dad stopped. Sonnet stopped. Everyone stopped. They stared at me, as silence fell on the stage.

"Contestant Number 3 has grown silent... Has she been defeated?" Sonnet softly said. "If so, then that automatically means that Contestant Number 2 is-"

I interrupted her.

"Strawberry Shades. Play me a beat," I ordered.

"Huh? Alrighty then..." he replied nervously. He started beatboxing.

Meanwhile, Dad stared at me with serious eyes. He looked a bit confused, but that look of confusion turned into anger as I said my next lines.

"Alright, ok, I understand now

You ain't going easy or being nice now

Before we get this party started

Let me remind you how it all started

How'd I get sick? I don't really know

But I know that you know that you know what she knows

Defense number 1: you crashed your car

Defense number 2: I tried to tell you

Defense number 3: now you tryna blame me

I'll settle the score with defense number 4!"

Dad took a step and said,

_"So what? I wrecked my truck! Are you happy now?_

_So would you mind shutting your mouth up now?_

_You think you can talk like that to me? You're a fool!_

_No wonder why you failed History in school!"_

He really brought that up, huh? Then I guess I'll have to bring that up then too.

"School? Cool! We can talk about it then

like how in math I got a perfect one-hundred

How about you? Oh wait, I forgot!

Didn't you get caught for smoking a bag of pot?"

"O-oh... Wow! That's-" Sonnet started but Dad cut her off.

_"Ha! Really? That's the best you can do?_

_Seems like you really bit off more than you can chew_

_And once I'm through with you_

_You're gonna wish that you withdrew!"_

"Anyway, what's with your face? Always looking grumpy

Imma 'bout to knock you over like Humpty Dumpty

Hey!

Speaking of which, lemme switch, to sweat on your face

Why you always look like you ran a race?

I would really tell you to wash your hair

But I can hardly find it anywhere!"

Dad's face was full of rage.

_"That's it! You're grounded!"_

"You said that already!

You're running outta lines

getting unsteady?

don't you worry,

I'll send you to heaven

once I diss your ass

in these seven seconds!"

_"Seven seconds?_

_I wouldn't bet a dime_

_Your rhymes are so trash _

_that it should be a crime!"_

"Crime?

Oh yeah, you should know a lot about that

Didn't you beat up a cop with a baseball bat?

Played with fire quite a bit didn't you?

You're gonna hate fire once I oven roast you!"

"Oh my!" Sonnet exclaimed. "I-I think it's getting a little too personal now; how about we stop?"

Hearing, the two of us turned toward her with a look of fury. I started walking over with my finger pointing at her.

"You hear that, Dad? She says it's getting too personal!

I think she must be getting bit delusional

You're the one who put us here in the first place

Prepare yourself as we punt you off to space!"

On cue, Dad jumped in.

_"Ay, ay, let us retrace_

_to the time I told you that you were a disgrace_

_That's right, I'll say it again to your face_

_and make you wish you didn't put this stream on the cyberspace!_

_Speaking of space, you look like you're from space_

_with your goofy outfit and your damn shoelace_

_Hey you looking white there _

_Why the pale face?_

_Feeling too afraid to face your own face?"_

"Wh-what?! Oh, sugar cookies! You can't do that! You're supposed to be dissing each other, not me!" Sonnet rejected.

Hearing that only made Dad and I gang up on her even more. The two of us begin to hound her, as I dissed her.

"Oh, sugar cookies!

Imma mix you like a sugar cookie

Make you all flat like a sugar cookie

Bake your whole ass like a sugar cookie

Whatever shall you do?

Oh, sugar cookies!"

"Y-you! Stop this right now! I'll electrocute you!" she warned. She pulled out her remote and pressed the button down. I thought I was going to feel the shock but found that I felt nothing.

Strawberry Shades stopped beatboxing. A large grin appeared on his face, and he chuckled to himself.

"Heh. Just in time, Mitsumu!"

Just as he said that the power went out. Everything was pitch black. I heard a loud screech blast in my left ear; it sounded like a mic dropped. I can also hear Strawberry Shades fighting against Sonnet besides me. I tried to move away from them but I felt someone bump into me. That made me drop my mic and their mic, and two loud screeching sounds blared simultaneously.

"Rin, is that you?" I heard Dad say to me. I felt a pair of hands grasp my shoulder.

The lights turned on again. Dad was standing next to me with a tensed look in his eyes. It was completely different from the look he had earlier during our rap battle; he actually looked concerned.

"Your villainy ends now, villain!" Strawberry Shades hollered.

I watched as he jumped up toward Sonnet, ready to punch her face. However, before his fist can touch her, a small, transparent wall appeared. It was no match though because his fist goes smashing through. Sonnet managed to escape eating his fist by a split second.

Rolling on the floor, she said, "W-watch it! You almost hit me! Besides, you wouldn't hit a girl, right?!"

Strawberry Shades he pointed at her and hollered,

"The hammer of justice is unisex!"

His fist goes flying into her face. It was so quick that she didn't have time to react. Her head smacked the floors of the stage.

Ouch. That looked like that hurt.

"What are you doing, standing there like an idiot?" Dad said to me, pulling on my arm. "Let's get out of here!"

He pulled me to the edge of the stage. He moved to jump off when his face smacked the invisible wall.

"Crud! Did I forget about that? I thought she disabled that. Maybe if we find that empty space that strawberry guy went through..." he remarked. He turned to me.

"Rin. Go along the edge of the stage and try to find an opening. I'll do the same."

I let out a cough.

"Uh, but what if you get hit-" I started but he cut me off.

"Just do it! Or else you're grounded for a month!"

"Okay then, sheesh..." I mumbled as I jogged away.

I dragged my hands along the invisible wall as I tried to avoid getting hit by any of Strawberry Shades and Sonnet's blows. It seemed like they were really going at it back there because the stage floor was beginning to fall apart. It was getting shaky with every step I took.

Suddenly, Strawberry Shades goes flying in my direction. He goes colliding into me and smashes me against the barrier. Or, I should have hit it because instead of hitting a wall, I fell off the stage. He also fell off too. We crashed onto the judge's table. The camera that was recording everything fell down too. His entire body weight pressed onto me, and I let out an _oof!_

Well, at least I found the opening.

Strawberry Shades jumped up.

"Fear not, I am completely fine!" he reassured me, giving a thumbs-up.

I heard Sonnet yell out a battle cry. I guess she disabled her barrier because she was able to jump off the stage with ease.

"Come back here, you overgrown donkey!" she barked with a noticeably deep voice. "I'll rip your insides apart and rearrange your atoms!"

While in midair, she swiped her right hand in a sweeping motion, and a semi-transparent box appeared. As she moved her hand, the box extended out and smacked Strawberry Shades in the face. He let out a grunt.

"Dad! I think you can get off the stage now!" I hollered. Well, I tried to at least. My cold made my voice raspy so it was hard to speak loudly.

Dad moved to get off the stage. However, Sonnet noticed him and thrust her hand out toward him. That caused another box to appear and it pushed him toward the center of the stage.

"Where do you think you're going, old man?!" she exclaimed. "You're not leaving; you lost!"

"I lost? Impossible!" Dad retorted. "You are just upset that you can't face reality!"

"Uh, Dad, I don't think you should be arguing right now," I remarked.

"I'm not talking to you!" he snapped.

The lights went out again and it was pitch black. Strawberry Shades and Sonnet kept fighting each other. Meanwhile, I slowly made my way over to the stage. Once my hands touched them, I called out to Dad.

"I'm over here," I said to him.

"You expect me to see you?" he replied snarkily.

"Oh, right... Um, just follow my voice!"

I felt something hard and round smack me in the shoulder. It felt like a baseball. It kind of hurt too, because my shoulder began to throb.

"How am I supposed to find you if you're silent?" Dad called.

"Uh, yeah! Just keep listening!" I quickly said.

The lights turned on again. I thought that I was going to see Dad standing near me but I found that he was all the way in the back of the stage near the back wall. Seeing that, I frowned.

How the heck did he get all the way over there?

"Move outta the way, bitch! You ruined my show!" I heard Sonnet yell.

I turned to look. She and Strawberry Shades were wrestling with each other. She was on top of him pushing a box down on his face while Strawberry Shades was on the ground.

Oh no. It looks like he needs some help.

As his face gradually began getting pressed to the ground, I tried my best to think of something. I hurriedly searched around the room for something to use to help. I settled on the camera stand that got knocked over when I fell off the stage, and I picked it up. There wasn't a lot of room where I was standing, so I climbed up onto the stage. Running over to her, I bonked her in the head.

"Son of a!" she winced in pain.

Strawberry Shades opened his mouth and spit out a seed. It hit her smack in the face. That gave him an opening, and he was able to push her off. Then grabbing her head, he held out his free hand and a giant seed the size of a football appeared.

"Prepare to planted!" he screamed.

—- —-

Ｓｔｒａｗｂｅｒｒｙ Ｓｈａｄｅｓ

Ｑｕｉｒｋ： Ｓｅｅｄ

Ｈｉｓ ｂｏｄｙ ｃａｎ ｃｒｅａｔｅ ｓｅｅｄｓ ｂｙ ｃｏｎｓｕｍｉｎｇ ｓｔｒａｗｂｅｒｒｉｅｓ． Ｈｅ ｉｓ ａｂｌｅ ｔｏ ｃｒｅａｔｅ ａｎｄ ｓｔｏｒｅ ｔｈｅｍ ｉｎ ｈｉｓ ｓｔｏｍａｃｈ ａｎｄ ｓｈｏｏｔ ｔｈｅｍ ｏｕｔ！

—- —-

It shot out of his palm and knocked her in the head. He thrusted his foot at her stomach. Stumbling backward, her back hit the edge of the stage. But when she did, the box that pushed Dad back suddenly changed directions. Making an L shape, it extended up and crashed into one of the giant stage lights on the ceiling. It happened to be that the light was hanging right over Dad was standing, and it started falling straight at him.

I heard the door to the auditorium burst open. From the corner of my eye, I saw Hiro standing there with a frantic look in his eyes. Seeing that the light was about to crush him, he started sprinting.

There's no way he's going to reach in time.

There was a soft look in Dad's eyes. It looked like he was sad. But yet, I saw a small smile form on his usual downturned lips. It didn't match him at all.

It was just like the look he gave me during the attack years ago, where he sacrificed himself for me. I can't let him get hurt again.

I dropped the camera stand in my hand. Spinning in his direction I extended my hands out to him.

**I need to help him.**

I shut my eyes just as the light hit.

The ear-piercing sound echoed through the room. Glass shattered, and there was a loud crash. It sent chills up my body.

I shouldn't have been so rude to him today, because he was right. It is my fault that we got into this mess. If only I didn't get sick, he wouldn't have to take me to the doctor and we wouldn't have got kidnapped by Sonnet.

I didn't want to open my eyes.

**I was scared.**

Suddenly, I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I tensed up. Then, slowly opening my eyes, I saw that Strawberry Shades was standing in front of me. Behind him, I saw the broken stage light on the ground. However, it wasn't sitting on top of Dad's body; it was smashed against the wall. There was a giant seed embedded into it that was the size of a soccer ball. I don't know how it was able to prevent the light from falling on him, but I didn't care. All I cared about at that moment was Dad, who was completely fine and alive.

"D-dad..." I heard Hiro breath from behind. He jumped up on the stage and ran over to him. Meanwhile, I just stood there.

I gazed up at Strawberry Shades.

"How... How did you?"

A grin appeared on his lips. Then giving me a thumbs up, he said,

"No need. Saving people in need is what heroes do. It's what I do."

»»—- —-««

"Are you sure you'll be okay? You don't need me to stay an extra day?" Hiro asked.

I shook my head.

"I'm fine. I'm getting better now. Besides, you need to go to work if you want to get promoted."

Hiro pushed his glasses up.

"I suppose."

Hiro got on the train. Then giving me, Dad, and Mom a wave, the doors closed and the train took off.

Mom let out a sad sigh.

"I miss Hiro already. Why did he have to work in another town?"

The three of us started walking out of the station. Mom continued to ramble on about how lonely she is without Hiro around anymore as Dad and I ignored her. She always gets like this whenever Hiro leaves.

As we walked up the steps to the exit, Dad spoke.

"Rin. I think I owe you an apology."

I glanced up at him.

"Huh?"

Dad nervously scratched his cheek. He refused to look me in the eyes.

"For what I said yesterday... About pushing all the blame onto you. It was not only rude but it was also childish. What kind of father blames their own child?"

I stared at him. I didn't say anything back.

He continued.

"Also, I didn't mean what I said during our... Uh, rap battle. I was having a bad day. Even so, that was not an excuse to act like that."

This is unexpected. I'm not even sure how to feel at this point. He never apologizes. He's usually too stubborn to.

"Yeah... Me too," I awkwardly replied.

"And I want to also thank you."

I raised my eyebrows at him.

"What?"

He quickly shook his head, dismissing it.

"Uh, never mind. Forget about it."

"I don't think I'll forget about it, though," I spoke. "Our rap battle was pretty...intense."

I pointed at him.

"I'm actually kinda surprised that you can rap."

He gave me a nod.

"Likewise."

"Not gonna lie, it was kinda fun. Especially when we were roasting Sonnet," I remarked. "She was, uh, getting pretty worked up over it."

A small chuckle escaped from his lips.

"I guess it was a bit fun."

I smiled to myself.

He's been so busy with work lately that it's been making him grumpy. I guess Dad is actually capable of letting it loose from time to time. He was able to relax, in a way.

"I mean, Hiro's so helpful! One person in this house is always working and the other doesn't give a squat about me!" Mom rambled to herself. She stopped upon seeing that Dad and I were behind.

"Hurry it up, would you? I am starving!"

Letting out a huff, she marched down the street. Dad started to follow her when I stopped him.

I really needed to know something; I needed to ask him now or else I won't be able to get the chance.

I spoke.

"Am I still grounded?"

"Of course you are."

Dang it.


	9. The Breakfast Club

"Today in class, we're going to be conducting a lab," Fujioka-sensei announced. "I've paired you all up into groups of two."

Tapping lightly on the whiteboard, he said,

"The groups are listed here. Pair up and find an empty counter in the room."

Immediately, all my classmates flooded to the front of the room. They eagerly searched for their names. Meanwhile, I decided to wait until my classmates left. There's no point in going up now when it's packed.

Once most of the people cleared out of the way, I went up to the whiteboard. Scanning the list for my name, I found it right next to Midoriya's.

That's cool. Midoriya and I are partners. Or, would've been if he was here at school.

I went to tell Fujioka-sensei that my partner was absent. As I approached him, I saw that Bakugo was standing next to him. He glanced at me giving me a cold look. I quickly looked away and ignored him.

"Uh, Sensei, my partner is not here today," I informed.

"Oh! It's perfect then," he remarked, turning to me. "Bakugo-san's partner is also absent today. You two can pair up instead."

Upon hearing that, Bakugo glanced at Fujioka-sensei disapprovingly. I would have expected him to say something about his disagreement with that idea, but he didn't. Instead, he muttered a gruff "Okay" and sauntered toward the nearest empty counter. I followed him.

"Alright! Let me begin the instructions for the lab," Sensei began. "You're going to need three beakers: a large one and two small ones. They are set out on the counter for you. Before starting any experiment, make sure to put on your safety goggles."

Everyone in the room had their goggles on already. I reached for mine and slipped it on. It was tight.

I peered over at Bakugo. He had them on too.

Despite his looks and robust personality, he always took the time to practice lab safety.

"Okay, so the first thing we are going to do is fill the large beaker with water," Sensei continued. "Fill it up about, let's say, halfway. There's no need for exact measurements. Next..."

He explained the entire experiment to us. Then, he passed out a packet we had to fill out. After that, we started the lab.

I noticed that Bakugo started the experiment already. I glanced at him and saw that he was filling the beaker up with water.

"Isn't that a bit too much?" I remarked.

He ignored me and placed the beaker on the stand. Since I was closest to the outlet, I plugged in the rubber cord for the bunsen burner. The smell of gas went in my nose. I reached over to grab the lighter when a blast erupts from Bakugo's hands. The group across from us flinched. Luckily the teacher walked out of the classroom to deliver some papers, or else he would've freaked out if he saw.

A fire ignited on the bunsen burner, and it started boiling the water.

"Uh, you were not supposed to do that," I said. "You're supposed to use the lighter."

Bakugo glanced at me. He scowled.

"Don't tell me what to do, Coconut-head."

Okay, jeez. I was just trying to help...

The two of us waited for the water to boil. Once it did, water droplets started spilling out all over the counter. It must've been because Bakugo put too much water in the beaker.

"I told you that it was too much water," I remarked.

"Shut up!" he growled.

The group across from us flinched again, but I was unfazed. I watched as Bakugo grabbed a dirty rag from the inside of the drawer and begin wiping the droplets. As the water began to heat up, more water began to spill. It looked like the beaker was going to overflow.

I reached over to lower the gas when a hot drop of water splashed on the back of my hand. Instantly, I pulled back. As I did, I accidentally bumped Bakugo, who was leaning down, in the forehead with my elbow.

"Watch it, damn Coconut-head!" he barked angrily.

"Oh. Sorry," I muttered.

"Don't you see that I'm trying to clean up?"

"I was just going to make the gas lower so the water wouldn't overflow. I was trying to help."

"I don't need your help!" he retorted. "I'll do it myself."

"...But we're partners. What's the point of being partners if one person is doing all the work?" I remarked, with a hint of annoyance. He seemed to notice my tiny shift in the change of my tone because he glared at me.

Bakugo stood there with razor-sharp eyes while I gazed back numbly. We stared at each other for a moment.

He's pissed. I pissed him off. But you know what? I don't really care anymore. He can be as mad as he wants to but I'm still going to help him. Don't get me wrong, it's not because I want to be a nice person; it's so I get credit for doing the lab.

I noticed that something was wrong with the air. I sniffed. It smelled like smoke.

I looked to see that the rag that Bakugo was using caught on fire. It wasn't completely lit yet, but it was going to get there soon.

"F-fire!" The boy across from us exclaimed.

It must've gotten into the flame when I bumped Bakugo in the head. Ah, crap! I should probably do something. But what?

Without thinking, I grabbed the unlit part of the rag. Sliding the window that was next to me open, I flung the rag outside. I slammed the window shut.

I turned back around. Bakugo was still wearing his frown while our classmates stared at me with wide eyes. Seeing them all stare at me made me uncomfortable. I started to sweat a bit.

Just pretend that nothing happened. Act casual.

"W-well... Let's just forget about that," I nervously said, trying to turn my attention back to the lab. I pointed at the lab sheet. "The next step says to-"

"The tree's on fire!" one of my classmates pointed.

I turned back around to see that the tree near the window was in flames. On one of the branches was the rag I threw out.

"You damn idiot! Why'd you throw it outside?!" Bakugo bellowed.

Bad idea. That was a terrible idea, Rin. Now the tree's on fire! I tried to help out but I failed. I mean, I tried, right?

"What is happening?!" Fujioka-sensei cried, running into the classroom. Upon seeing that the tree was on fire, he immediately lost his mind.

The entire school had to evacuate. The fire force came and had to put out the fire. Fortunately, there was no damage done to any of the students, teachers, or the building. However, the tree next to our science classroom had to be chopped down. The teachers asked us on who started the fire, and the group that was working across from Bakugo and I snitched on us. They called Bakugo's mom and my dad. They both weren't very happy about it.

And because we set the tree on fire, we were forced to attend Saturday morning detention to atone for our crimes.

"You're grounded," Dad said to me. He rolled down the window to his truck and drove off.

I let out a sigh. Turning around, I walked into the school.

Inside, it was completely bare. There was no one here. As I walked down the halls, I can hear my footsteps echoing. The sun was out, and I can see specks of dust floating in the air. The hallways smelled like soap and bleach; the cleaning crew from yesterday must've really scrubbed the place.

It was kind of weird seeing the hallways look so empty. They're usually bustling with students. In a way, it was a bit unsettling.

Walking up to the third floor, I slid the door open for my homeroom. Bakugo was already inside the classroom. He was wearing his school uniform.

Good thing I wore my uniform too. I wasn't sure what to wear since I've never gotten detention before.

Upon seeing make my entrance, he gave me a glare. I did my best to ignore him as I took my seat. However, it was hard to. I can practically feel his gaze dig into me like a knife.

For a few minutes, we just sat there in silence. The only sound heard was the constant ticking of the clock. It was so quiet that I had the urge to repress my sneeze so I wouldn't break it.

This sucks. I could be at home sleeping right now.

It was like that for a while until I spoke up.

"Where's the teacher?" I asked.

Bakugo didn't bother turning around to look at me.

"He went to use the bathroom. He's probably taking a shit."

It was quiet again. As time passed, I grew increasingly uncomfortable. I can practically feel Bakugo's hatred in the room.

I knew that I should probably not talk to him, but I did anyway to break the tension.

"Uh, so, when did you get here?"

"...About five minutes before you came."

"Okay..."

Our homeroom teacher comes walking into the classroom.

"Alright, you two. Now that you're both here, we can start," he announced, rubbing his long chin. Reaching into his pockets, he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. Unfolding it, he squinted.

"Okay. So, what you guys have to do for...uh, _setting the tree on fire_, is on this list," he started. "The first thing to do is scrub all the blackboards in the third-year classrooms. Then, wipe all the windows in this hallway. After you finish all of that, come to the teachers' lounge and I'll have you two move some supplies for Fujioka-sensei's class."

He peered up at us.

"That is all. If you two need me, I'll be in the teachers' lounge."

Watanabe-sensei helped us locate the cleaning supplies. After that, he let us go.

Bakugo and I started scrubbing the chalkboard in the first classroom. It seemed like the cleaning crew purposely left the chalkboards dirty because there was a lot of work we had to do. Using the eraser, we wiped away as much chalk as we could. However, Bakugo wasn't pleased that I was helping him.

"Move! You're in the way!" he barked.

"I'm just trying to help," I replied.

"You can help by moving!"

I sighed. I let him do his own thing. I decided to go retrieve some water in the meantime. Picking up the two metal buckets, I headed to the girls' bathroom. I noticed that the door to the girls' bathroom was open. I sauntered over and peeked inside.

Not going to lie, it was a bit spooky in there. The lights were off. There was only a small stream of light from the hallway that illuminated the tiled floors of the room.

I had no idea where the light switch was. I left my phone back in the classroom too, so I had no way of navigating in the dark. I had to reach my hand out and blindly turn the switch on. The lights flickered on.

Picking up the two buckets, I walked over the to sink. I began to fill both of the buckets with warm water. I glanced at the stall behind me as my mind began to drift.

I remember my classmates claiming that the girls' bathroom is supposedly haunted. The third stall is haunted by a girl in a red dress named Hanako-san. If you knock on the door three times and call her name, she's supposed to appear and drag you into the toilet, which is a portal to Hell.

How many Hanako-sans are there? Literally every girls' third-floor bathroom in Japan is claimed to be haunted. In my opinion, the story sounds a bit ridiculous.

"Hey, Coconut-head! Hurry it up, would ya?" Bakugo suddenly said from the doorway.

They finished filling up and I dragged them out.

"What took you so damn long?" Bakugo asked, picking the other bucket up.

"Nothing."

He snorted.

"What? You spooked about being alone in the bathroom?"

I shrugged. He began to walk off. As he did, I noticed that he was limping slightly. But, I didn't pay much attention to it.

We scrubbed the blackboards down. It actually took less time than expected; Bakugo's surprisingly fast at cleaning. He's also pretty good at it too. By the time we finished drying the last board, it looked good as new. When I told him that, he told me to shut up.

After that, we wiped the windows.

"Die!" Bakugo hollered as he viciously wiped down the glass.

"Uh, you shouldn't wipe so hard," I suggested. "You might break the glass-"

"Shut up, Coconut!"

"Okay... I was just saying..." I muttered, turning away.

Wiping the windows took way less time than cleaning the blackboards. We were nearly done with our detention. All we had to do is deliver some supplies to the science room.

There were six boxes. We each took three. They weren't that heavy, so we were able to take them up in one trip. Now, the hard part was going up three flights of stairs.

"This is stupid," Bakugo complained as we walked up. He was walking behind me, slower than expected. "It's all your fault that I'm here. Just to let you know, you're a damn idiot for throwing that rag outside."

"...That's understandable," I replied. "But I wouldn't have done that if you didn't let the rag catch on fire."

Shoot. That last part slipped out. I shouldn't have said that.

"You shouldn't have elbowed me! Then maybe the damn tree wouldn't have caught on fire!" he accused.

"Um, technically, it's my fault. But it's your fault too," I remarked. "I told you to not fill the beaker up so much."

"Why should I listen to you? You're just a damn nerd! What are you, my mom?"

"Well, I was just trying to help-"

"I don't need your help!"

We arrived at the classroom. I turned to him. I stared him straight in the eyes.

"The entire fire could've been prevented if you listened to me."

Saying that made Bakugo's eye twitch. I can see the rage building up. I walked into the class. I set the boxes down on the closest counter. Bakugo did the same. But as he did, he set off an ignition.

The impact of the blast made my hair fly up. Smoke flew up in my face. The smell of burnt rubber filled my nostrils. It cleared within a few seconds, but I can still smell it. Gazing down at the counter, I saw that there was a black outline of Bakugo's fist imprinted on it.

"...You know that's school property, right?" I said plainly.

"Does it look like I give a shit?" he snapped. "It's your fault that I'm stuck here, and that's final."

Well yes, but actually no. It's his fault too.

I didn't say anything back not wanting to escalate things further. We started heading back to the teacher's lounge. I noticed that his limp had gotten more noticeable. However, as we took a step out of the classroom, I accidentally stepped on the back of his shoes. That was the last straw for him because he reached over to me. He grabbed the red tie on my uniform. He held me up to his face making me stand on the tips of my soles. He peered at me with a blazing look in his eyes.

Why is he doing this? I literally showed disinterest in arguing with him. It wasn't like I purposely stepped on his shoes.

"You fucking loser! I've had enough with you!" he shouted.

"Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to step on your shoes," I replied plainly. However, he wasn't convinced even with my truthfulness.

"You think you're so tough, huh? Pretending that you're not scared?" he hissed. "I hate people like you. People who pretend that they're something they're not."

"Is that why you hate Midoriya-kun?"

Upon hearing his name, there was a small shift of expression on his face. He paused. It was only for a second but I knew what he was thinking about. He was thinking about the sludge incident three months ago.

"What? Deku?" he said, with a tensed tone. "That's none of your fucking business."

I don't know why, but I started talking. I should've kept my mouth shut but I couldn't. My mouth just started moving on its own.

"He's a nice kid. I don't get why you hate him," I blurted. "He even saved you when all you've done is pester him."

"Shut the hell up!" he barked in my face.

He pushed me away. I stumbled backward nearly tripping over. Before I can do anything, he cornered me to the wall.

"Say, how about we continue what we never finished that day?" he suggested, with a stiffened grin. "You never showed me your quirk. How about you do it now?"

I'm in trouble. Why did I talk back? And where the heck is the teacher? They're always gone when I'm being bullied.

I ignored him. I tried to slip away when he set out another ignition from his hand. It blasted in my face, yet my expression stayed the same. I was completely calm and that pissed him off.

"Where do you think you're going? Gonna tattle on me?" he sneered. "There's nowhere for you to run."

"...You're not supposed to use your quirks at school," I murmured.

"Does it look like I care?"

"...Not really..."

"Exactly. So why don't you show it? Show me your quirk."

I bit my lip.

Well, this is a bad situation. The last time I told everyone that I didn't know what my quirk was, which was back in elementary, I got teased for it every day. It wasn't too fun having kids pushing you down in the hallways and stealing your shoes. It would've been way worse if Hiro wasn't there to defend me. Thinking back on it, I'm realizing how much I depended on him. Now that he isn't here, I was completely defenseless. I was alone.

**I was quirkless.**

"Hey! I'm fucking talking to you!" Bakugo shouted, breaking me from my thoughts.

I gazed up at him slowly. Then with a straight face, I said,

"No."

"No?" he breathed. "You said no? That's a first. Guess that means I'll have to force it outta you."

He held his hand out. His palm was in front of my face.

"I'll give you ten seconds. If you don't show me, I'm blasting you."

He started counting. Meanwhile, I stood there unsure what to do. It was getting a bit hot in here, and I started sweating.

What can I do, though? I can't show him my quirk even if I wanted to. I truly would if I knew how to but I can't. I either do nothing and get blasted or tell him the truth and get teased for the rest of the year.

**I wish my stupid quirk would come out already.**

"7...8...9..." he counted. "...10."

I shut my eyes. Raising my shoulders, I tensed up and held my hands up to lessen the blow on my face. I heard the sounds of an explosion come out of his palms. As it did, my open hands clenched. My hair flew up as I waited for the blow. But nothing happened. Only a cloud full of smoke exploded in my face.

Once I thought that the smoke cleared, I opened my eyes. Bakugo's palm was still in the same spot that it was before. However, the look on his face changed. He didn't look that angry anymore; he looked a bit confused and maybe even shocked. For a moment, he just stared at me without saying anything. Then, he let out a scoff.

"Heh. Did you think I was actually gonna blast you?"

I lowered my arms. He turned his heels and sauntered to the stairwells.

So...he didn't actually use it then? I'm not sure what exactly happened, but I came out of it unharmed. That's a good thing.

I gazed at my hands. The tips of my fingers were covered in soot. They also were trembling. I don't think they were trembling from anxiety though, well at least not completely. They felt weird and tingling like that day when I got electrocuted at the beach.

I wiped my hands on my skirt and followed after Bakugo. However, as he approached the edge of the stairs, his right foot landed on the floor wrong. It wobbled, and he tripped toward the edge.

He's falling. Now's your chance to get back at him. From the first time he saw you, all he's done is be a bully. He deserves it especially after how he just threatened you. He tried to hurt you.

Let him go.

I proceeded to watch him fall. But out nowhere, my hand twitched.

**I couldn't do that. **

Grabbing the back of his gakuren shirt, I yanked him back toward me. He hit my chest, and I stumbled backward. I was able to regain my footing though. Then, Bakugo roughly nudged my fingers off by moving his shoulders. He spun around with furious eyes.

"Get your damn fingers off of me!" he snapped.

"I was...trying to help," I said slowly.

"I don't need your fucking help!" he hollered. "I told you already! Leave me the hell alone!"

My lips turned down into a frown.

"I get it...You don't like being helped," I started. "But you would've fallen down the stairs if I didn't catch you."

I gazed down at his right foot. I know he was trying to hide it but it was shaking. He knew that I could tell because he started getting defensive when I asked him how he injured it.

"It's none of your business," he said.

"It wasn't like that yesterday."

"It's none of your fucking business!" he exclaimed taking a step forward. As he did, he almost fell over again. He had to stop himself.

"You're just like damn Deku; always getting into people's business," he muttered.

We stood there without saying a word. I can feel the tension in the air. It was uncomfortable.

Why did I help him, anyway? Why didn't I let him fall? I don't even like him, but yet I reached out. Why was I willing to help someone who couldn't care less about what happened to me?

The scene of what happened three months ago flashed in my head. I was in the alleyway with Bakugo and his friends. They just finished ruining the comics I bought for Hiro. Then, the sludge monster appeared. And right as it attacked, I felt a hand push me out into the street.

My eyes fell down to the floor.

"...I don't know," I mumbled. Everything felt jumbled up inside; there wasn't a clear picture. It was like someone took the pieces to a puzzle and mixed them all up. I didn't know what to feel.

"I don't like you, Bakugo," I said, my voice beginning to lose its cool. "So, why did I pull you back?"

Bakugo just stared at me with his lips forming a thin line. I couldn't even tell what he was thinking right now.

**I can't even tell what I'm thinking right now.**

"You hate me too. So when that sludge villain attacked us, why did you push me out of the way?"

His eyebrows furrowed down into a complex expression. There was a mixture of emotions in it.

"What...What the hell do you mean?" he breathed. "You were in my way, so I moved you. How else was I supposed to fight it?"

I shook my head.

"No... You pushed me into the street."

Immediately after saying that, the pressure drastically got heavier. It was suffocating. I felt chills run up my arms.

"I was going to let you fall, but I didn't. It would've made sense; I don't like you. Yet, I grabbed you," I strained. "You moved me out of the way. It would've been easier for you to push me back, but you pushed me into the street instead...where it was safer."

I peered up at him looking right into his red eyes. They seemed cautious and threatened. His whole expression screamed "defensive".

"Why did you do that?" I quietly asked. "Why...did I do that?"

My fingers started trembling. Glancing down, I grasped my right wrist with my left hands. Even as my fingers wrapped around my wrist, they wouldn't stop. Bakugo noticed the shift in my expression, and I hid my shaking hands behind my back in a flash.

**I can't let him see. **

"I gotta go," I said under my breath. I quickly walked past him and scurried down the stairs.

**Once you give them a reaction, then it's all over. **

»»—- —-««

Bakugo watched as his classmate rushes down the stairs and out of his sight. He didn't bother saying anything or following after her. He took this moment to think.

Although he would never admit it out loud, he knew that she was right. Why did he push her into the street? He didn't even know.

Usually, when he would bully her at school, Onishi Rin never had a big reaction. She was always wearing the same deadpanned look on her face with her dark eyes always devoid of any emotion. It pissed Bakugo off. At least Deku reacted. However...today was different.

Rin wasn't easy to read but Bakugo could totally tell. The thing about always having the same look etched on your face was that once it changed, it was noticeable. It was only a little bit, but Bakugo saw that her expression cracked. Her feelings peeked through. Her eyes for a moment showed emotion that was filled with a mixture of guilt and uncertainty. He also saw that her hands were trembling slightly.

He peered at the dark stain that was to the left. It looked like a gray cloud that was painted on the floors. It looked dirty and it was easily spotted.

Speaking of her hands... How was she able to deflect his explosion?


	10. Because That's What Heroes Do

"Hey, can I leave?"

"No! You cannot!" The leader of the villain group exclaimed. His spit flew in my face, and I wiped it off with my sweater in disgust. "Can't you see? You're a hostage!"

I surveyed the room I was in. There were six villains in the room. They all wore matching outfits. They had on a black undershirt that had a gray vest over it. They wore black trousers and heavy boots. They wore cotton beanies and goggles that obscured their eyes. Each villain was pacing around the room with guns, watching the hostages to make sure they wouldn't try anything. The majority of the hostages were business people who worked in the building. However, as I scanned the crowd, I didn't see my dad. He was supposed to be here.

Today was Saturday. Dad had to work, even though it was the weekend. He got a new job at Wren Inc, the place where rich people go to. Maybe that means we'll become rich. He's been pretty busy with work lately, and I think that's why he's been losing his hair. I told Mom that but she suggested not to tell that to him.

Anyway, Dad forgot his lunch that Mom made. Not wanting him to "starve to death", Mom made me deliver his lunch to his workplace. I asked her why she didn't just do it herself, but then she dodged the question. She probably just didn't want to go out. So with no other choice, I went to Dad's office building.

It's a pretty big place. The inside of the building was pretty fancy too. Marble floors and ceilings, there was a professional air to it. Everyone was dressed nicely inside. I felt out of place with my baggy sweatshirt, old shorts, and my socks and sandals. I'm surprised they even let me in. I told the front desk lady that I was here to deliver a lunch for my dad. She didn't really believe me, so she sent me up to the 47th floor with some bodyguards.

But they didn't really help much. When I got here, villains attacked them and knocked them unconscious. They made me their first hostage and then everything else fell into play. The entire building was put on lockdown, and now I'm stuck here sitting on the floor surrounded by a bunch of business workers.

I sighed.

They took all our phones too, so there was no way for calling help.

"Get your filthy hands off of him!" I heard a shrill voice shout from the next room.

The door to the exit burst opened. Coming inside was a woman wearing expensive-looking clothing. She wore a silk shawl around her slender shoulders. She had on bright red lipstick and had a pair of sunglasses on top of her head. In her arms was a baby. There was another villain pushing her inside.

"Shut up!" The villain exclaimed, struggling to get her inside.

"How dare you call me a bitch! I'll have you know that my husband is-"

"Move it!" Another villain from behind barked. He nudged the two into the room.

"You're lucky that you have a baby, or else I would've smacked you already," the villain holding the woman hissed. He pushed her to where I was sitting. Then they walked off.

The rich lady let out a huff of aggravation.

"I can't believe he said that! He has no class whatsoever!"

I peered over at her baby. It was a boy. He wore a light blue collared shirt with sharks on it with brown shorts. He had on clean white sneakers. His hair was light brown and he had squinty eyes, like his mom. His mouth was naturally turned down into a frown.

That's a cute baby. But why's he so fat?

Upon thinking that, the rich lady next to me gave me a frown.

"Did you just call my baby fat?"

How did she know?

I noticed that she was inspecting me. I uncomfortably inched away from her.

"Quit moving. I'm trying to look at you," she snapped. I stopped and let her look. After a few seconds, she pointed at me.

"Hey! I remember you! You were in the taxi with me when a Micheal Jackson look-alike came in," she said with her perfect eyebrows raising. "You drove me to the hospital."

The hand she used to point at me had on the largest diamond I've ever seen. Upon seeing that, the events from three months ago replayed in my head: Sitting in the taxi, her running in, the driver getting pulled out of his seat, Micheal Jackson hijacking the car but fainting when she went into labor, me having to driver her to the hospital while cops chase us, me crashing the car but turning out unharmed...

Now that I think about it, she's right. I remember having a quirk that allowed her to read my mind. No wonder why she was able to know that I called her baby fat.

"Oh. You're that rich lady who has a temper. I remember now," I replied.

"I do not have a temper!"

Upon saying that, everyone around us flinched. She cleared her throat awkwardly.

"A-anyway, what a coincidence to see you here. How did the front desk even let you in wearing...that?"

I peered down at my draggy outfit.

"Good question. I don't really know," I replied. "Everyone here is dressed so nicely."

"And your shoes..."

"Oh, these? Uh, these are just old. But they still work," I replied casually.

It wouldn't hurt to get new ones, though. I've had these forever.

"I probably should've changed my clothes before delivering this."

I held my dad's lunchbox up for her to see.

"Who's that for?" She asked.

"My dad. I came here to give it to him but, you know, this happened."

I scanned the room once more trying to find a graying, receding hairline with the angriest face in the room.

"He's supposed to be here on this floor. He might be in another room."

I noticed that her baby was staring at me. His emerald-colored eyes were staring at me, unblinkingly. I wasn't really sure what to do so I just stared back. It was a bit awkward.

Then out of the blue, he opened his mouth and chomped down on his mom's finger.

"Ack! What are you doing?" She squealed, prying her finger out. Upon doing that, he threw his right hand back and backhand slapped her face.

"You're lucky that you're still a baby! Otherwise, I would've grounded you!" She exclaimed.

Sounds like something my dad would say.

Her baby started whining after getting scolded. Because of that, everyone in the room began to stare. A villain walked over and pointed his finger at her.

"Hey, lady! Shut it up!" He barked.

Her eyebrows furrowed and her lips curled down.

"Junichi's not an _it! _Say _him!_"

She started to argue with the guy. Her baby, Junichi kept on whining.

Its-he's so loud. Maybe if I give him some of Dad's lunch he'll stop crying.

I opened the lid to Dad's black lunchbox. Inside was rice, boiled greens, baby tomatoes, and boneless fried chicken. Picking up the chopstick, I grabbed a small bundle of rice and held it out for Junichi. That caught his attention because he stopped crying. I stuck it in his mouth. Pulling the chopstick out, it was covered in salvia.

That's kind of nasty. I'll just have to wash the chopstick really good before I give it back to Dad.

"What are you doing?" the woman asked as she watched me feed her baby more rice.

"Uh, I think he's hungry. He can eat rice, right?"

She shrugged. Gazing at the lunch, she said,

"Are you sure you want to give him that? That is for your father, is it not?"

"He'll be fine," I replied. Junichi let out another whine telling me to hurry up and give him more. As I picked up more rice, I said,

"Besides, I'm only going to give him a little bit. It's not like he's going to eat the entire thing."

»»—- —-««

"Shoot. He ate the entire thing."

Junichi let out a satisfied babble. He began sucking on this fat thumb. I stared at the empty section of the lunchbox where Dad's rice use to be at.

I can't believe he ate all the rice. No wonder why he's so fat.

"I can hear you, you know," The woman said in an irritated tone.

The door bursts open. Walking inside was a creepy-looking girl. She had sickly gray skin with long, black hair. Her face was covered by a black veil. The dress she wore reminded me of the kind of dresses English people wore in the Victorian era.

"Get in there," the man behind her beckoned. He pushed her onto the ground beside us. She stumbled and collapsed on the floor.

She didn't get up. She just laid there with her torso on the ground and her head hanging down. A few people around begin to grow concern. An older man around Dad's age asked her if she was okay.

"I am never okay."

The creepy lady sat up with her hair in a tangled mess. She peered over to me.

"It's you," she said in a raspy voice. "You look different."

I pointed to myself.

"Uh...I do?" I said. "And how do you know me?"

"Your name is Rin... Strawberry Shades told me so..."

What? This girl knows Strawberry Shades too? Could it be she's part of that vigilante group?

"Strawberry Shades? Are you talking about that weird pervert running around in a pink suit?" Junichi's mom piped in.

The other girl nodded slowly. She let out a sad sigh.

"I am tired... When are the others going to get here?"

She reached into her cloak and pulled out a black Uno deck.

"In the meantime...I guess I'll play Uno...by myself..."

Hearing that, the rich lady's ears perked up. Her eyes locked onto the girl's pale hands as she shuffled the cards.

"Hey, you. Let me join in," she ordered.

I raised my hand.

"I'll join too."

The gloomy girl sighed a tired "Ok". She started opening the box. Meanwhile, a confident grin spread across the other woman's cheeks. She let out a cocky laugh.

"Ohoho! I am the best at Uno! When I win, you will wish you never dared to challenge me!" she boasted.

"Um...okay," I responded, not really caring.

"Hand me the cards. I will shuffle!"

We started playing. The rich lady was really confident. She kept on taunting us whenever we put down a card. She was pretty into the game too. She was pretty loud too. Junichi kept messing with the cards and she kept yelling at him. He started crying because of that so I had to give him some of Dad's baby tomatoes.

Before we knew it, the corpse girl dropped a Red Eight card down on the carpet.

"I won..." she mumbled.

Junichi's mom let out a dramatic gasp.

"Wh-what? Impossible! How did I lose?" she said with wide eyes. "Junichi, it's all your fault! You kept grabbing my cards!"

Upon saying that, her baby backhand smacked her in the face again.

"...The game's not finished...You have to go...against...Rin..."

Hearing that, a determined look crossed her face. I saw a fire ignite in her eyes. I felt the atmosphere change from a family-friendly game of cards to a Yugi-Oh match.

"Calm down, it's just Uno..." I muttered placing down a Red One card.

She puts down a Red Five. Then, I put down a Red Seven. Turns out she didn't have any more red cards, so she began to draw cards from the deck. However, she wasn't getting any. I can see the sheer frustration on her face as she kept drawing more and more cards.

"Wh-who shuffled these cards?!"

"You did..." I said flatly.

Finally, she managed to find a card, and she places a Seven down.

"Dang... I don't have any Yellows," I muttered reaching for the deck.

"Ha!" she cackled, using Junichi's fat arm to point at me. "Now it's your turn to feel my pain!"

"Found one," I said throwing a Yellow Draw Two down.

She sat there frozen to the spot. I thought she was honestly going to lose it since she seemed like a sore loser. But then, I saw a smile appear on her lips. She reached into her hand and threw down another Draw Two.

I threw down a red one, and she threw down a green one. For a minute, we were just throwing down Draw Twos. The people around us watched us intently, and I even noticed some of the villains peering over at our card game. Then, as I placed my fifth Draw Two, a defeated look crossed her face. She hung her head low. She slowly reached over to pick up all the cards that accumulated.

"How many...?" she said, glumly.

"Sixteen..." the other girl replied dully.

I noticed the same guy who brought the rich lady in was standing over us. He was covering his mouth as he tried his best to stop himself from bursting with laughter. His face had turned red, and his shoulders were shaking as he suppressed his laugh.

I would've expected her to yell at him again, but she didn't even bother to say anything. She just sat there with a cloud over her head. Her fiery eyes have gone dull, and a small but sad frown was on her lips. She didn't even care that her baby was eating her finger; that's how upset she was.

"We're on blue?" she asked sullenly.

She threw a Blue Nine down.

I gazed at the cards in my hand.

Looking at my current situation, for sure I'll win. I have eight cards: a Blue Five, Yellow Six, two Wild cards, two Draw Fours, and two Skips. There is no way she can win now. I can already hear her complaining once I finish it off.

I silently threw down my Blue Five. She threw down a Blue Four. Then, I calmly placed my Wild card on the carpet.

"Uh, changing it to...yellow," I said. I placed a Yellow Six down.

I can already tell that she was ready to burst. A dark gloom was under her eyes, and her mouth was contorted into a frown.

Although I'm not competitive, I do enjoy winning.

Out of nowhere, she started giggling. It started out with a giggle that soon ascended to full-on laughter. Everyone watched her as she laughed maniacally. Then after settling down and using Junichi's fingers, she silently slid her card down, she said,

"Switch hands."

It was quiet for a moment. Nobody spoke. Nobody moved. All we did was stay exactly where we were, not making a single sound.

Damn.

I hesitatingly held out my cards to her. With a flash, she snatched it out of my fingertips and gave me her stack of cards. Holding her cards made me truly realize how much she had. She literally had half the deck.

Well, at least I tried. I'm done for.

I threw down a Yellow One. Slowly reaching into her hand, she dropped my other Wild down.

"We're changing the color...to red."

She peered up at me. However, she didn't look like herself. She had on a crazed look in her eyes as if the spirit of a card master had possessed her. She let out an evil cackle and said in a deep voice,

**"You are already dead."**

"What-"

"Skip you, skip you again, and it's to me once more. Then I throw down my Draw Four along with my Wild. And now, Uno!"

An evil stretched across her cheeks. A hungry-looking shine glimmered in her eyes. She was a predator, and I was her prey.

"She's...she's been possessed...!" the creepy lady spoke, with her mouth opened agape.

The rich lady threw her head back and let out a loud laugh.

** "Bwahahaha! Silly girl! You thought you could defeat ****_me?"_**she spoke. "You fell right into my trap card! I purposely picked up all those cards to get your hopes up. Then, as your cards began to diminish in its numbers, I knew it was time to use my trump card."

"Uh, Can I say, I think you're getting a bit too into this-" I started, when she cut me off.

"Silence!" she snapped. Then holding up her last card worshipfully, she dramatically slammed it down as if she was in a card anime.

**"DIE!"**

She slammed her card down onto the carpet with a loud _thump!_ And once more, silence fell among us. By now, everyone in the room was watching out the Uno match. Eyes stared at us and all the villains in the room hovered over. No one said anything, not even the baby. The only sound heard was the heavy breathing coming from my power-crazed opponent.

"No need to fear, because Strawberry Shades is here!" the strawberry hero announced, bursting through the door.

He stopped upon sensing the intense atmosphere in the room. His eyes fell on us with my opponent wearing a crazy look on her face while her hand is slapped on the carpet, Junichi still sucking his mom's finger, the gloomy girl surrounded by black candles that encircled her looking ready to summon a demon, the business workers around us staring intently, the villains holding their breaths, and me who was just sitting there with a confused expression.

We were just playing Uno. It was just Uno.

"Oh... You guys are playing cards?" Strawberry Shades awkwardly said, peering over. He scratched his cheek nervously. He noticed me, and he waved.

"Hi, Rin-chan! Haven't seen you in a while!"

"It's only been four days..." I replied flatly. "I saw you on Tuesday at the park. You were passing out balloons. You gave me one."

"It's been a while. We usually see each other at least every three days," he remarked. He let out a chuckle. "Odd, really!"

"Yeah, pretty odd..." I said under my breath.

Ever since our off-brand The Voice session we had a few weeks ago, I've been running into this guy a lot lately whether it's bumping into him in the street, getting saved by him (he tries but I usually solve the situation myself), or watching him fight off villains. Nowadays, it feels like my life has gotten increasingly more eventful.

The villains finally snapped back to their senses, and they circled the hero. They pointed their guns at him.

"How did you get up here?!" one asked. "There was supposed to be people stationed on every floor!"

"Me? Well, I climbed up!" Strawberry Shades replied nonchalantly.

"This is the 47th floor!"

Strawberry Shades shrugged.

"So?"

The villain grunted.

"How'd you find us anyway? There are a ton of rooms on this floor," he demanded. "You weren't supposed to look in here since we used the power of reverse psychology."

"You talking about this sign?"

Two heroes come strolling through the doorway. The guy wore a cloak that masked the top half of his face. Slung over his shoulder was a fishing rod. The girl next to him had spiky hair that was pulled into two pigtails. She wore a skin-tight suit with thigh-high heels. In her hands was a crudely made cardboard sign that said: _"This is where the hostages are at". _

"What? No way!" the villains cried. "You were supposed to not come in here because the sign is supposed to sound like a trap!"

The girl pointed at him, letting out a cackle.

"Jokes on you! I love traps!"

That didn't really sound right, but okay.

Running inside, the hero wearing the cloak smacked Strawberry Shades in the head with his fishing rod.

"Why did you run off? Quit ignoring orders!" he scolded.

"I'm sorry, but justice must be served!" the strawberry hero replied, unaffected by his attack. "Once I sense evil, I cannot help but destroy it immediately!"

"Hey, those three looks familiar," a woman with round glasses remarked. She was sitting a few feet away from me. "Aren't they those vigilantes that have been popping around town lately?"

"Now that I think about it... You're right," her old companion replied. "What were their names again? Strawberry Shades, Static, and the Masterbaiter?"

Static and the Masterbaiter? Weren't those the two heroes who first responded when that octopus villain appeared at the beach?

Strawberry Shades overheard the two business workers' conversation. Giving them a big thumbs up, he said,

"Yes! That is our name! We are part of the hero group, Blackbird!"

Another villain who had his gun pointed at him raised his eyebrow.

"Don't you need to have a license to be a hero?" he said.

"Do you need to have a license to be a villain?" Strawberry Shades retorted.

"Touché."

"Enough is enough!" One of his buddies exclaimed. "Let's beat'em already!"

Pulling the trigger, he shot the strawberry hero. However, before the bullet reached him, a shadow arm wrapped around Strawberry Shades's leg and pulled him away. The bullet goes flying into the wall.

I noticed that the creepy girl was standing up now. Her cloak was open and the shadow arm was seeping out from within. With a flash, it zipped back into the darkness like how a plastic tape measurer does when you press the deject button.

"There you are, Furutani!" Static exclaimed as she smacked another bullet with the cardboard sign that she was holding.

Furutani? I've definitely heard that name before. Wasn't she the one who made everything pitch black when I got pulled out of the train three months ago?

—- —-

Ｆｕｒｕｔａｎｉ

Ｑｕｉｒｋ： Ｎｉｇｈｔ Ｓｈａｄｅ

Ｂｙ ｕｓｉｎｇ ｐｏｃｋｅｔｓ ｏｆ ｄａｒｋｎｅｓｓ， ｓｈｅ ｉｓ ａｂｌｅ ｔｏ ｅｊｅｃｔ ｉｔ ｏｕｔ

ｉｎｔｏ ａｎ ａｒｍ ｏｒ ａ ｗａｌｌ！

Ｓｈｅ ｉｓ ａｌｓｏ ａｂｌｅ ｔｏ ｍａｋｅ ｃｌｏｕｄｓ ｏｆ ｄａｒｋｎｅｓｓ ｂｙ ｌｅｔｔｉｎｇ ｉｔ

ｓｅｅｐ ｏｕｔ ｆｒｏｍ

ｔｈｏｓｅ ｐｏｃｋｅｔｓ！

—- —-

The heroes proceeded to beat up all seven villains in the room as people went to take cover.

Junichi's mom and I went to hide behind one of the office desks. Bullets were flying everywhere as people screamed. The glass wall behind us was shattering. Because of that, Junichi started crying.

"Shh, don't cry!" she said trying her best to soothe her baby. She stroked his head but he kept on crying.

A bullet grazes the desk we were hiding behind. I flinched, and the rich lady held her baby to her chest.

Well, this sucks. There's nowhere we can run since bullets are flying everywhere.

I peeked from behind the desk.

They were actually getting some work done. Strawberry Shades was shooting out seeds that acted as his own bullets, Static was beating them up by using some sort of quirk that halted their movements, the Masterbaiter was using his rod like a whip, and Furutani was helping by creating small areas of darkness around their faces that distracted them.

Wow. They're actually doing something useful for once.

I heard the sound of someone loading a gun from behind us. I turned around to see that there was a guy there pointing his gun at us.

"Get over here!"

I thought he was going to grab me but he reached over to the rich lady instead. He pulled both her and Junichi up and pointed the gun to her head.

"Hey! No sudden movements, or else I'm blowing her brains out!" he shouted.

Immediately, all four of them stopped to look. That gave the rest of the villains time to apprehend them. The heroes are pushed onto the floors with guns pointed to each of their heads. Seeing that, the hostages went hysterical. Some were crying, some were angry, and some fainted. It was not a good situation.

"You coward! Using a woman and her child as a hostage!" Strawberry Shades exclaimed in frustration. He got hit in the head with the back of the gun for saying that.

Junichi was crying his eyes out. Meanwhile, his mom was sweating immensely. Her red lips quivered and she was breathing heavily. Her hand was trembling as she shakily rubbed Junichi's back. Her wide eyes were locked onto the heroes ahead.

What are we supposed to do now? The heroes can't do anything. If they do, this guy will shoot her on the spot. They won't be able to get here on time either. I can't sit here and do nothing. I have to help. But how? Is there some sort of opening he has?

I peered up at the man who was holding her. I noticed that on his right knee, there was a black knee brace. He must've injured it somehow. Behind them was the glass wall. I noticed that there was a man flying outside, possibly a hero, that was surveying the building. I held up Dad's metal lunchbox to my chest.

"There ya go, nice and easy," the villain said with a grin. "Now, if any of you try anything I'll-"

Zipping up from the ground, I slammed my body against his kneecap. Dad's lunchbox made a metallic _cling_ and the villain yelped in pain. I was able to knock him down. That gave the woman and her a baby a chance to untangle from the villain's arms. As I tackled the man down, I heard Strawberry Shades and the others start fighting the villains again.

Okay, that worked out way better than expected. But what do I do now?

"That hurt!" The villain cursed. He pushed me off of him and scrambled for his gun, which was knocked away when I tackled him. Picking it up, he pointed it at me. Without warning, he pulled the trigger.

I don't know if it was pure luck or not, but I reacted in an instant. Pulling Dad's lunchbox to my face, the bullet bounced off and shattered the wall.

I was sweating a lot now. It was getting really hot, even with the air blowing in from the broken wall.

That was too close.

"You damn bastard!" he bellowed. "Die!"

Before he could shoot me again, there was a loud explosion. It sounded like it came from the floor below us. The ground trembled beneath. The shock made the building shake, and the man in front of me lost his balance. He tumbled down to the floor. Dad's lunchbox slipped out of my hands and flew out the open glass wall. The building let out a loud screech that deafened my ears. Then slowly, everything started leaning right.

People screamed as they scrambled up to avoid slipping off. Desks and chairs began sliding off through the broken wall. Some people held on for dear life, while others began to slide off. The heroes were trying their best to save everyone; even the villains. I saw the Masterbaiter's lure wrapping around people and Furutani's black hand grabbing falling civilians.

I began to feel myself begin to slide. The desk that I was hiding in was coming straight toward me, and I had to roll over to avoid getting slammed down.

Crap, crap, crap. This situation just got even worse.

I noticed that the woman from before was trying her best to climb up. However, it looked like she was struggling since she was holding a baby. A giant file cabinet was sliding right in her direction. She was going to get hit. She and her baby were going to fall.

**If only I had my quirk, then maybe I would be able to save them.**

"Forget about quirks..." I mumbled, crawling over to them. Every move strained my muscles. A cool breeze blew against my back.

**I'll save them myself.**

"Watch out!" I exclaimed to her. In a flash, her eyes locked onto me as I pushed her and Junichi away. The file cabinet slammed against the right side of my body. I let out an _oof!_

"Someone, help!" the woman screamed, just as a black shadow wrapped around her waist. She gets whisked to safety as I tumbled out of the building.

I began to freefall in the open air. The cool wind blew against my back as I looked up at the blue sky. It would've been more relaxing to gaze at the sky if I wasn't falling from a 50-story building. As I passed the floor below us, I saw that it was covered in smoke. I can also hear the distant sirens of police cars and screaming below me.

The images of 10-year-old me falling off a building flashed in my mind. Unlike today, the sky was turning dark. The wind was blowing on my back as my fingers scrambled for the nonexistent ledge that I could grab onto. The smell of dust, smoke, and fire filled my lungs. I can see Dad's horrified face.

Ah, crap. My heart is pounding so fast. I think I'm shaking. I'm probably going to die.

Suddenly, a hero catches me in their arms. Bright red feathers fly up in my face. The hero whisked me away, as I watched more heroes with flying quirks arrive on the scene. I watched as they went to rescue civilians that were tumbling out of the building.

I peered up at the rescuer, who was the Number 3 hero Hawks. He glanced at me with through his yellow-tinted visors as his dirty blonde hair blew in the wind.

"That was a close one, huh?" he said with the corners of his lips curling up slightly. "I saw what you did up there. Pretty heroic, I'd say so myself. You pushed that lady outta the way, didn't you?"

Within a few seconds, we were back down on the city street. There was an abundance of cops, paramedics, and heroes. There was a large crowd of civilians off to the side spectating the entire scene.

"Here ya go," Hawks said, setting me down. Then with the sweep of his large wings, he sprung up and went to go rescue more people. The sheer amount of force that came from it made a gust of wind blow in my face. I watched as he zipped away.

Immediately, a flood of heroes, police, and medics came to my aid. They began to bombard me with questions. I tried my best to hide my shaking hands. I couldn't let them know that I was scared.

"Rin!" I heard my mom call. I looked to see her pushing through the crowd of people, along with Dad. They scurried over to me.

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?" Mom gasped, entangling me into her arms. "I should've never told you to go deliver your father's lunch on your own! I'm so sorry!"

"Uh... It's...okay..." I muffled, as she squeezed me tightly. She let me go and startled rambling incomprehensibly through her tears. Meanwhile, Dad walked up to me.

"Rin..." he started. Then without warning, he slowly wrapped his arm around me and gave me an awkward side hug.

"...Don't ever do that again," he muttered, hanging his head low.

I bit my lip and peered away from him.

"...Okay."

The situation got sorted after that. Everyone in the building was evacuated. Luckily there were no deaths but a handful of people on the 46th floor got injured from the explosion. Apparently, one of the villains set the ignition off when the hostages tried to fight back. They're in the hospital, but they're all going to be okay.

The vigilantes Blackbird left the scene before they could be questioned by the police. However, civilians and heroes account say that they were immensely important during the rescue operation. Despite not being registered heroes, they acted just like them. They contributed a lot. Because of that, their popularity boosted and people started supporting their actions more.

A few days have passed since that time. After the commotion, I never got to see Junichi and his mom again. I'm sure they're doing fine though.

I was laying on the couch watching the tv when the doorbell rang.

"Rin, can you grab that?" Mom called from the kitchen.

When I opened the front door, I saw that Junichi's mom was standing there. Next to her was a tall man. He had a thin face and nose. His hair was combed perfectly to the side. He wore a navy blue suit with a red tie.

"Greetings. My name is Wren Kyouya. I am the owner of Wren Inc."

Wren Inc? What's he doing here?

Junichi's mom cleared her throat.

"Well, we are here to...t-to..." she struggled to get the words out. Her husband peered over to her. Then he looked back to me.

"We came here to thank you. I thank you for not only saving my wife but also my child," he said. Then bowing down, he held out a gift box. It had a golden bow on top.

"Please, accept this gift as a token of our gratitude."

Woah. That's unexpected.

"Uh... Okay..." I awkwardly said, picking it up into my hands. I held the box to my chest.

"I know that this gift alone cannot express how grateful we are to you," Mr. Wren said. His steely expression relaxed and a sincere expression crossed his face. "Please, if you ever need something, just give us a call. We will assist you with open arms."

The two elites began to leave. However, before they left, Mrs. Wren comes running back to me.

"Y-you...You pushed me out of the way. Why? You knew that you could've died, so why did you do it?" she breathed.

Why did I do it? Well, isn't it because she had a child with her? But even so... I kind of just reacted on my own. There wasn't a definite answer for that question and once again, that odd feeling I had with Bakugo during Saturday detention came back. I was confused.

"...I don't know, actually," I mumbled. "I just...did."

She stared at me for a moment. Then, she grabbed one of my hands and held it in her soft hands. Staring at me with her eyes watering, she said,

"Th-thank you so much. You may be young, but you have the heart of a hero...so I thank you, so, so, so, much..."

After that, they drove off in their fancy car. As they did, I opened the gift that they gave me to find a pair of squeaky, clean sneakers. They looked very expensive; it was the brands that Pro heroes wore.

I forgot; she can read my mind. She must've read it when I thought about wanting new shoes And there's no way I'm telling Dad this. He'll probably make me give them back.

I peered back down at the new shoes that were in the box, and I felt my lips curl up into a small smile.


	11. Crimson Eclipse

This doesn't look like the right house.

With my free hand, I reached into my pockets and pulled out my phone. Opening my messages, I reread the address that Dad sent me.

"2035 Migra Lane North."

Exiting out, I opened my GPS. The glowing blue icon, my location, was right above the destination.

I gazed up at the house in front of me. Well, it wasn't really a house. It was a warehouse. The bricks were dark red, probably because it was covered in dirt and grime. Some of the bricks were chipped too. Discolored vines were growing on the side of the building. There were windows too but most of them were boarded up. The front door was a heavy, metal, steel door.

Is he sure he sent me the right address?

I glanced down at the package in my hands.

One of Dad's co-workers asked him to deliver a package for them. I don't get why he just didn't say no; it was just a co-worker. Anyway, he agreed to take it. But as you can tell right now, Dad made me be the one to deliver the package. I pointed out to him how unfair it was but he ignored me. I'm always stuck doing errands for my parents.

I called Dad. After a few rings, he picked up.

"Did you deliver the package?" His muffled voice asked.

"Uh, about that," I started. "The address you sent me led me to some sketchy place. Are you sure it's the right one?"

There was a bit of shuffling heard through the other side of his line. He must be digging through his desk. Then after a moment, he replied.

"2035 Migra Lane North," he said.

"Uh, yeah, I typed that into the GPS."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm pretty sure," I said. "Maybe your co-worker gave you the wrong address."

"Well if it's sketchy, then just leave the package at the door. I'll just tell him that I delivered it. That's all that matters."

"But I'm the one delivering it-"

He hung up on me.

I stopped upon seeing something flash from the top window that was one of the few that wasn't boarded. I swore I saw someone peeking at me through the blinds. Their white eyes stared at me. Within an instance, they disappeared.

Huh. That's pretty weird. I should just drop the package off and leave.

Walking up to the steps of the building, I set the package on the doorstep. I reached up and rang the doorbell. Just as I turned to leave, I heard a voice speak through the intercom.

"You! What are you doing here?" a shrill voice demanded.

"Um..." I awkwardly said turning back around. "I'm here to deliver a package."

"And what's in the package?"

Jeez, how am I supposed to know? I'm just the delivery girl.

I scratched my head.

"Uh...some clothes?" I lied.

"What color are the clothes?"

"...Red? Crimson red?"

Upon saying that, the mat that I was standing on opened. Letting out a grunt, I fell down into a basement. My body landed on a very cushy mattress that upon hitting it, I bounced off. I stumbled onto my feet. I almost ran into the woman that was standing in front of me. She was wearing a red uniform made out of latex. She wore a red bike jacket with a red camisole underneath. She had on shiny red pants with red heels. Around her neck was a red bandana that covered her mouth.

Did I just get kidnapped? I'm pretty sure I got kidnapped.

The woman pushed her bandana down to exposed the grin on her face.

"Hey, nice to see that a little squirt like you joining the gang," she remarked earnestly.

"...What?"

She let out a hearty laugh.

"There's no need to act clueless anymore! You're good!" she said, wrapping her arms around me. "Call me Akira."

She started leading me out of the room and into the corridor. Upon exiting, I saw that the place was full of people wearing the same uniform as hers.

"You're pretty darn good at acting clueless, y'know that?" Akira remarked as she led through the hall.

"U-uh... Thanks?" I stuttered, surveying my surroundings.

She laughed again.

"You're a cute one! I think you'll fit in just fine at the Crimson Eclipse!"

Upon hearing that, the conversation I had over the phone with my brother a few days ago replayed in my head.

_"You really need to be more careful, Rin. There's a new villain group running about called the Crimson Eclipse. They're dangerous people. They work underground in the black market selling illegal things and recruiting members to join their cult. Not to mention, they're hard to track. Even my agency is having trouble tracking their base. You don't want to run into them."_

Well, crap.

I wasn't watching where I was going, and I accidentally bumped into another Crimson grunt that was passing by.

"Hey! Watch where ya goin'!" his friend beside him exclaimed.

"I am sorry about that! She is new!" Akira quickly said.

The grunt that I bumped into peered at me. He was a good-looking guy, and it wasn't just because there were a bunch of girls staring at him. He had soft, curly hair. His eyes were long and thin but in a good way. His pupils were bright green. He had thick eyebrows. He looked a bit like a foreigner because of his darker skin and round lips.

"Ahaha! No worries! I am fine!" the grunt reassured in a booming voice. He gave me a thumbs up.

Wait a minute, I've heard that voice before.

Before I could ask, he scurries away.

"It's fine if you're relaxed around me but you gotta be more careful when you're with the others," Akira whispered to me. "You're lucky they let you off the hook."

We arrived at a sealed door. Pulling out a keycard, Akira swiped it and the metal doors opened. She beckoned me to go inside. Inside the room was a long clothing rack full of red uniforms. The boots were sitting on a shelf. There were black benches lined up. It looked like a locker room.

"Here are the uniforms. The smaller sizes are on the right side," she informed. "After you get dressed, turn left and keep walking until you get into the Great Hall. There's gonna be a welcome ceremony for all the new recruits."

She let out a sad sigh.

"Well, it seems like this is where we part ways. It was nice meeting you..."

"Erm, Rin."

"Yeah, Rin. We'll probably see each other around sometime."

Giving me a friendly pat on the back, she walked out of the room.

I gazed at the red uniforms on the clothing rack. Then reaching for my phone, I clicked it on to see that I had no service. Calling for help was out of the question. There was also no way I was going to try to escape either. I was already lost.

I let out a sigh.

How did I get myself into this mess?

»»—- —-««

I hurriedly rushed over to the Great Hall. I saw that the welcome ceremony was already starting. There was nowhere for me to stand so I stood in the doorway. The entire place was full of gang members.

On the stage was a tall, curvy woman. She wore red like the rest of the members but her outfit was different. She had on a tight red blazer that complimented her curves and a short skirt. She wore high-heels. Her maroon hair was pulled back into a loose bun. She wore triangular red glasses. Behind her, I noticed that two people were standing near the back. Akira was one of them. She wore a serious look on her face. The other person was a man. Instead of wearing a bandana like the rest, he had on a white mask with a red crescent on it. He wore a maroon trenchcoat.

"Welcome, new recruits!" the woman spoke into the mic. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ruby, and I am the vice president of the Crimson Eclipse."

Upon saying that, the crowd cheered. The woman cleared her throat and the crowd settled.

"It is so nice to see you all today. The turnout was much bigger than expected. It warms our hearts that there are others out there who believe in our cause."

She took the mic off of the stand and started pacing on the stage. Her red heels tapped on the stage.

"Our mission as members of the Crimson Eclipse is quite simple: it is to rebuild a better and stronger world for humanity. We live in a time where the unimaginable is able to be done. A time where super abilities are given to 80% of the population, that allows us to perform extraordinary feats. A time that shouldn't be restricted. In order to get rid of those restrictions, we must first start by eliminating those who oppose us."

On cue, the wall behind her opened. A large screen appeared with the pictures of several Pro-heroes. There was Eraserhead, Present Mic, Midnight, Endeavor and many others. But most importantly, the gallant grin of a blond hero was there: All Might.

Upon seeing their faces, the crowd booed.

"Now, now, we must not disrespect them," Ruby remarked. "With strong and useful quirks, they're Pro-heroes for a reason. However, it is such a shame that many of them do not believe in our vision. Such a shame!"

"Yeah!" the crowd repeated. "Such a shame!"

A pleased smile appeared on her red lips, and she continued.

"And once we eliminate those who oppose us, we shall start step 2 without any setbacks..."

The smile on her face fell. There was a sinister look in her eyes. I felt the atmosphere in the room suddenly get heavier. I felt a pit form in my stomach. I knew what was going to happen next was going to be bad.

Slowly lifting a hand up, she held up two fingers.

"Step 2: Exterminate the Leftovers."

For some reason, I had a feeling that she wasn't talking about food.

"In case if any of you may be wondering, what exactly is a Leftover?" she said. "It is quite simple, really. It is the humans who are ungifted. Inept. Lacking. Incapacitated."

She paced around the stage. Stopping in the middle of it, she held her hand out to the crowd.

"It is the humans with inferior quirks!" she exclaimed. "It is Natural Selection; the Leftovers will die off because their quirks in their DNA are simply inferior. Meanwhile the strong, us, will prevail with our superior power. Society has no need for weaklings! Weak people build weak societies. Strong people build strong societies. That is why we must exterminate the ones with inferior quirks! If we do not, we will never be able to build a utopia!"

The crowd erupted in cheers and applause. Everyone around me was praising Ruby for her inspiring speech. I noticed that Akira, who was standing up front, wore a toothy grin on her face.

This doesn't sound good. Last time someone tried to wipe out a group of people, the world went into war. I fit right into the category of the Leftovers, and it'll get messy if someone finds out.

While everyone was distracting, I took this chance to slip away. I sneakily walked out of the Great Hall and began making my way back to the room I came through. I wasn't sure how I was going to get back up, but I needed to try. These people were trouble.

As my boots tapped on the shiny black floors, I saw a pair of Crimson Eclipse grunts heading my way. They didn't notice me yet because they were invested in their conversation.

It'll be suspicious if they catch me wandering around when everyone is supposed to be in the Great Hall.

Seeing that there was an incoming right turn, I quickly dashed into the other hall. I pressed my back to the wall and remained still as I could as the two grunts walked by. Somehow they didn't notice me. I waited until I couldn't hear their voices anymore before stepping back into the main hallway. However before I could, everything went black.

Crap. I think I got caught. I'm done for.

My body started moving on its own. It turned into the direction of the hallway I was hiding in. My feet moved there. I was in complete oblivion on where the heck I was going. I took a left turn and kept walking straight. It wasn't until my vision came back when I gained a sense of my surroundings.

I was inside a storage room. Around me were crates of who knows. I was surrounded by shelves. In front of me was a Crimson Eclipse grunt. He wore the standard uniform like the others and had curly, blonde hair. However, he wore a pink sleeping mask with a cat face on his eyes.

Immediately after regaining my sight, the bandana around my neck is pulled up around my mouth and tightened to prevent me from yelling for help. I felt a pair of fingers tap my calves and then my arms. Upon doing that, my limbs that were touched felt like jello. I fell straight-forward on my stomach. I hit the ground letting out an _oof! _ I found that I couldn't move my body. I couldn't move even if I wanted to.

Yep. I'm screwed.

"Hey, lookee! I caught one!" the guy in front of me said playfully, kneeling down. He pulled the sleeping mask up to expose his gray eyes.

The one who used their quirk that stopped my movements came out from behind me and stopped in front of me. They were a young woman with messy pigtails. She wore a red uniform. She had big, wide eyes. And upon seeing me, her eyes grew even wider.

"Eh?! Is that the Rin girl?!" Static exclaimed. "What are you doing here? Don't tell me that you believe all that mumbo-jumbo those Crimson Lips are spouting!"

"Uh, well, no. I came here to deliver a package for my Dad's co-worker when the welcome mat I was standing on opened, and I fell down here. I didn't really have no way of getting help or escaping, so I just copied what everyone else was doing..." I replied. However, it sounded more like muffles because of the bandana that was tightly tied around my mouth.

Static reached over and loosened the cloth so it fell back down around my collarbone. I repeated everything I said to them.

"So, uh, yeah..." I spoke. "I guess I accidentally joined a gang?"

Static let out a sigh of relief.

"Oofta! You almost broke my heart there. If I was already sad over that, imagine how Shades would feel!" she remarked. "I really thought that you turned out to be one of the bad guys! I would've had to fight you..."

"It wouldn't be a very hard fight, though..." I muttered.

"Why not? I'm sure you've got a strong quirk like your brother," the guy remarked.

I peered over to him suspiciously.

"...How did you know I had a brother? And how did you know about his quirk?"

He just giggled. Static stepped in.

"Ah, don't worry about Mitsumu. He stalks everyone," she reassured.

Mitsumu held his finger up to clarify.

"Nyhehe! I think the right word you are searching for is _extensive research!"_

What a way to invade my privacy...

I peered back to Static.

"Hey, can you like, disable your quirk? My arms and legs feel weird and I can't move."

She just shrugged.

"Sorry! Quirk machine broke. I can't do it; I already touched you. You're gonna have to wait it out."

I let out a sigh.

"Really? What is your quirk, anyway?"

A haughty grin spread across Mitsumu's cheeks. He let out a string of giggles.

"Static's quirk! Leave it to me to explain!" he exclaimed with a glimmer in his eyes.

—- —-

Ｓｔａｔｉｃ

Ｑｕｉｒｋ： Ｐａｒｅｓｔｈｅｓｉａ

Ｂｙ ｔｏｕｃｈｉｎｇ ａ ｂｏｄｙ ｐａｒｔ， ｓｈｅ ｃａｎ

ｒｅｓｔｒｉｃｔ ｔｈｅ ａｍｏｕｎｔ ｏｆ ｂｌｏｏｄ ｆｌｏｗ ｔｏ ｔｈａｔ ｐａｒｔ

ｒｅｓｕｌｔｉｎｇ ｉｎ ｈａｌｔｅｄ ｍｏｖｅｍｅｎｔ！

Ｈｏｗｅｖｅｒ， ｓｈｅ ｃａｎｎｏｔ ｕｎｄｏ ｔｈｅ ｅｆｆｅｃｔｓ．

—- —-

"...Oh. Okay," I remarked flatly.

"Oof!" Static grunted. "Such a bland reaction..."

"Sorry, I guess," I replied. "Anyway, what are you guys doing here?"

"We're here to infiltrate this place!" Static replied. "Thanks to Mitsumu's hacker man skills and Blackjack's awesome impression of being a villain, we were able to find the location of this place."

A toothy grin appeared on her face.

"Not gonna lie, it was pretty cool sneaking in and pretending to be a villain. It's like the game Hitman, except we're not really killing anyone!"

Mitsumu giggled.

"Hehe! We'll have to see about that! It depends if someone gets on Masterbaiter's bad side."

"He's here too?" I said. "How many people came?"

"Everyone from Blackbird! Even the boss!" Mitsumu chirped.

I thought back to the run-in I had with that grunt earlier. The way he looked and the manner of his speech was oddly similar to Strawberry Shades's. It must've been him.

Before I could ask them about him, there was a beeping sound. Upon hearing that, the two of them went alert. Mitsumu pressed his finger up to his ear. Static did the same. I'm assuming they were listening through some sort of earpiece because they stood there. I couldn't hear what they were hearing though. After a minute, they moved their hands down.

Static let out a devilish chuckle.

"It's showtime."

The two of them began to exit the storage room when I called out to them.

"Uh, how about me? I'm still stuck here," I said.

Mitsumu turned around. He gave me a nonchalant wave.

"Aw, don't you worry one bit! You'll be fine waiting it out in here. The big kids are just gonna go ruin the ceremony."

"Wait, what-"

They walked out and shut the door behind them. I heard their footsteps outside disappear.

The least they could've done is sit me up against the wall or something, but they just left me here lying on the floor.

I couldn't do anything so I just laid there. It wasn't long until I heard an explosion come from the direction of the Great Hall. Blackbird must've launched their surprise attack now because shortly after, I heard shouting orders and people fighting. I'm not sure if it was because of the fighting or not, but I can feel the ground vibrating. They really must be going all out outside.

The prickly sensation in my arms and legs began to fade away. I was able to move them now but only at a minimal. I slowly pushed my body up from the ground. I only got up to my knees when I heard footsteps scurrying toward the storage room and the door bursting open.

I immediately turned around to see a tall, muscular man standing behind me. He wore a white mask with four holes. He had on a padded vest and had large, steely cylinder wrist braces on both his arms.

"There you are! It seems like those vigilantes weren't lying..." The hero Gunhead remarked. He held his hand out to me. "Can you get up?"

Grabbing his rough hands, I shakily stood up. As I did, I lost my balance and ended up toppling over into his huge chest.

"Uh, sorry about that," I awkwardly said trying to put some distance between us. "Static used her quirk on me because she thought I was a bad guy...turns out the effects aren't reversible so I have to wait until the quirk wears off."

"I see. Well, no worries then," he replied. Without warning, he grabbed me with his meaty arms and held me bridal-style. I tensed.

"Hold on tight!" he said, dashing out of the room and into the main hall.

It was complete chaos. All around me, I saw members of the Crimson Eclipse battling with all sorts of heroes. As Gunhead evaded and shot villains with his keratin bullets, I spotted some familiar faces. I saw some members of Blackbird battling. They all wore the matching red uniforms of the Crimson Eclipse, but they had on their masks to obscure their faces. Blackjack was using cards to help attack and defend. Masterbaiter was using his fishing lure to knock his opponents down. Static was playfully jabbing people in the stomach making them unable to move. Static noticed me as we passed by and she yelled out to me.

"Hey! You're still alive!" she teased. A Crimson grunt charged at her with huge claws, and she effortlessly dodged the attack.

I also saw some heroes that I recognized. Running through the Great Hall, I saw Eraserhead's glowing eyes as he wrapped villains with his cloth. Kamui Woods was shooting villains with tree branches, the BMI hero Fat Gum was crashing into them like a bowling ball, and I also noticed the Turbo Hero Ingenium zooming around the room.

"I thought it was just Blackbird infiltrating," I remarked.

"Really? I thought it was just us heroes infiltrating," Gunhead replied. A Crimson grunt tries to attack us with fire when a spray of water goes splashing over the fire. A few water droplets got on my face. On cue, Gunhead thrusts his fist into the grunt's face, knocking him into another grunt. Gunhead scurried off.

"So that's why there are so many of you guys..." I mumbled.

"This was a big mission so we recruited some of the minor heroes to help out too. We recruited heroes all the way from Murato City."

Murato City? That's where Hiro works. Does that mean he's here too?

"Anyway," he continued. "It seems like Blackbird had the same idea as the heroes. For now, we will work with them until this situation is sorted out."

We met up with Ingenium who just finished knocking over a villain. Turning to us, he said,

"Gunhead. This must be the girl Blackbird was speaking about."

"Yep. She's not hurt but because of the vigilante Static's quirk, she is unable to move well."

Like passing a baton, Gunhead smoothly handed me over to Ingenium. It was humiliating.

"I'll leave the rest up to you," Gunhead said. Before I could thank him, he sprints off into battle.

"Uh, I can move now. I think the effects wore off," I informed awkwardly. I wanted Ingenium to put me down and not hold me like a princess when he told me that it'll be faster to get me to safety if he held me.

"Hold on tight," he spoke.

Extending his foot out, we zoomed through the crowd. He expertly dodged the people in the room by going around them, jumping over, and running on top of the chairs and tables. We skidded to a stop upon seeing a group of Crimson grunts standing at the exit of the Great Hall. There were seven of them. In the middle of them was Akira.

"Don't worry Rin, I'll save you from these petty excuses!" she exclaimed, getting into position.

A sparkling, bolt of lighting ejected from her palms. Ingenium managed to dodge it, but the rest of the grunts swooped in for the attack. Ingenium did well to evade their attacks but I could tell that it was getting difficult, especially with Akira's deadly lightning bolt. Ingenium's costume was made out of metal and it'll get messy if she were to hit him with one.

"I got you now!" Akira shouted shooting a line of electricity out.

It was coming straight for us. Just as it came, I let out a giant sneeze. I thrust my head down and expected to get shocked. However, it never came. Instead, a line of three grunts gets shocked instead.

"Y-you! Why would you do that?!" Akira exclaimed in confusion. "Don't tell me you're a spy like the others!"

"PREPARE TO BE PLANTED!" a familiar booming voice screamed.

I turned to see a particular strawberry hero sprinting over to us. Extending his arm out, a giant seed appeared from his palms and slammed into Akira's stomach. The force of the impact blew her back into some Crimson grunts who were fighting. She knocked them over.

"Strawberry Shades?" I said.

He slowly turned to me. He gave me a thumbs up and smiled.

"Heh! It is I, Strawberry Shades! I have come to the rescue!"

Akira, who was staggering up from the floor gave him a harsh glare.

"I'll kill you!" she hollered. She sent a bolt of lightning from her hands. Strawberry Shades picked up a nearby chair and flung it just as it strikes.

"Go ahead, Ingenium!" he said with a grin. "I got this!"

I expected the Pro-hero to ignore him or show some sort of distaste toward the vigilante, but he thanked him instead. We zoomed out of the Great Hall.

"How are you doing?" Ingenium asked as we sprinted down the empty halls. His metal shoes were clanking on the floors as we dashed to safety.

"Um, fine, I guess?" I replied.

He took a sharp turn to the left. When he did, I saw that the ceiling above us had a gaping hole. The top exposed the old building that was used to hide the base. There was a rescue ladder that was hanging from above. This must be where the explosion came from.

Ingenium set me down on the ground.

"You must climb this ladder and go out the front door. There are police and heroes waiting outside for you."

Before I could reply, Ingenium suddenly turned back around. He was staring at a Crimson grunt that followed us here. He was standing at the end of the hall. However, he looked different. He wore a maroon trenchcoat and had a white mask with a scarlet crescent moon. He wore laced combat boots.

I realized that it was the man that was standing on the stage when Ruby made her speech. He was slowly beginning to walk over to us menacingly. As the man got closer, the pressure that emitted got heavier. Just seeing his presence made me feel anxious. I could tell this guy was different from the others. He was dangerous. Ingenium noticed too because shielded me with his body, getting into battle position. He began to back away cautiously.

"When I tell you, climb up as fast as you can," he warned.

The villain pulled out a long, black weapon that looked like a mixture between a staff and a scythe. At the ends of it, it glowed red. It reminded me of a Sith lightsaber from Star Wars; it didn't look too friendly. Then without warning, he started charging at us.

"Go!" Ingenium shouted. I immediately jumped onto the ladder and began scrambling up. Meanwhile, Ingenium rushed toward the villain.

The two of them collided and began battling. I didn't take the time to watch because I had other priorities. As I scurried up the ladder, I had to tighten my grip on the steps to keep me from falling. The battle was getting pretty rough because the ladder was beginning to sway.

"Watch out!" Ingenium exclaimed.

I turned around to see the villain's weapon. He swung the weapon at me. My heart pounded.

Crap, crap, crap!

Propelling myself up, I stretched my arms out and grabbed onto a step that was 5 steps away. I'm surprised that I even made it, not to mention, held on. The villain's blazing weapon goes swinging into the steps underneath me. I smelled the scent of burning metal.

Well, I could've been toasted.

Because of my little jump, I was 7 steps away from the top. I was able to make it up in no time. As I scrambled up on the dirty floor, I caught a glimpse of their battle. The villain was in a frenzy, swinging his weapon around. Meanwhile, Ingenium was doing well to dodge it. As the villain went in for the hit, his staff disconnected into two parts, only being held by a black chain. That caught Ingenium off guard, and the weapon was heading straight for his face.

"Ingenium!" I said without thinking.

As the weapon went to hit him, it suddenly turned the other way. It was redirected. And because of that, Ingenium didn't get hit.

"No need to fear, because Strawberry Shades is here!" I heard Strawberry Shades cry.

I couldn't see him because the floor was blocking, but I heard him scurrying over. It sounded like there were more people coming to help because the villain turned around. A woman wearing all black came into view. She wore a mask over mouth and nose. She had brown hair and glowing, purple eyes. Seeing her make her appearance, the villain threw down a smokescreen. Amidst it all, I saw his figure scurry away.

"He got away!" Strawberry Shades exclaimed in frustration, running over. Behind him was Static, Masterbaiter, and Eraserhead.

Eraserhead's expression hardened.

"That's strange. I didn't see him use his quirk at all."

Ingenium peered up at me through the hole. He asked me if I was okay. I told him that I was. Then, Eraserhead informed him about the situation. They were able to tone it down and defeat most of the members. However, some did get away including Ruby and Akira. It was time to call in the police to arrest the criminals.

As Strawberry Shades fanboyed over Ingenium asking him for his autograph, Eraserhead turned to the mysterious woman. Now that she was closer, I realized that the cloak she wore reminded me of a raven or a crow.

"Corvade," he said gruffly. "It seems like you know something about that man judging on the look on your face."

Really? She just looks mad to me.

"...Perhaps I do, perhaps I don't," she replied simply. "However, I do know his name. "That is the infamous and uprising villain...

Her steely eyes gazed over to him.

**"The Crescent Reaper."**


	12. The Boy from the Train

Why is it so freaking hot?

I wiped the sweat off of my face with my arm as I walked down the sidewalk. It didn't do much though since my arm was equally as sweaty. I immediately regretted doing so because it felt disgusting. The skin on my arm was practically sticking to my face. It just made me feel even grosser.

I was on my way to the train station. Hiro was coming back home again. My parents wanted to pick him up but neither of them wanted to go since it was scorching out. So what did they do? They sent me out instead to go sizzle in the sun. Although I slathered on at least half the container of sunscreen and wore a cap, I can feel my skin burning.

"Why am I the errand girl...?" I mumbled bitterly.

I stopped at the crosswalk. There was a crowd of people waiting for the light to turn.

It also didn't help that it was Friday afternoon during summer break. There was a ton of people out; more than usual. All the body heat radiating off of everyone made us all hotter and more sweaty.

I hate summer.

The light turned and everyone began to walk across the street. As I did, I noticed a lone girl. She looked like a kindergartner. She wore a bright yellow sunhat with a polka-dotted strapped dress. Around her shoulders was a small bag that had the face of a white bunny.

Hey, she looks familiar...

I made my way over to her direction. Upon taking a closer look, I saw that it was the neighbor's kid. The events of the weekend I took her to the beach replayed in my head. Remembering it all, I shuddered

"Uh, what are you doing?" I asked her.

Himawari peered up at me. Her eyes lit up.

"Rin-chan!" she exclaimed happily. "I missed you! I told Mommy and Daddy that I want you to take me to the beach again, but they said I could never see you again."

Her parents were not happy with me once they found out about the mess we got in. They hate my guts now. They don't talk to me or my family anymore either. It was a bit of my fault that I lost track of her but it wasn't my fault that a tentacle man decided to pop out of nowhere.

"O-oh... Is that so?" I replied glancing away.

For some reason, I didn't notice the lean figure that was standing right next to her. I gazed over to see that there was a boy with her. He wore a casual, navy blue button-up shirt with dark jean shorts. He stared at me with brown and turquoise eyes. There was a scar around his turquoise eye. He had long red and white bangs.

Wait... Brown and turquoise eyes? A scar? Red and white hair? It's that guy from the train! The guy from the train that all the girls stalk! The guy who saw me have a bag of stolen money! The guy who...I groped.

I quickly grabbed her small hands and led her across the street. Partly because the light was going to turn back and partly because I wanted to get away from that guy. Once she got over, I asked her again why she was out here.

"I'm buying Mommy a birthday cake! A chocolate cake!" she said to me. "Daddy's at work while Mommy's taking a nap. Daddy is too busy to get Mommy a cake, so that's why I'm gonna get it!"

Himawari turned to Peppermint Hair, who had followed us and was standing there uncomfortably.

"Todoroki-chan is gonna help me buy a cake!"

"Oh..." I quietly remarked.

Why is he staring at me so much? I bet he remembers me. He totally remembers me. I'm the perverted thief from the train.

"...Do you know where the cake shop is?" he said to me.

Oh. Nevermind. He was looking at me because he needed directions. Maybe he forgot who I was.

"U-uh, yeah..." I awkwardly replied. "There's one close by. I was heading to the station, but I can just take you two there since it's on the way."

Hearing that, Himawari let out a happy cheer.

"Yay! Rin-chan is gonna come too!"

"Um, yep. I guess I'm coming too..." I remarked stiffly. I glanced at Peppermint Hair. "Er, your name is Todoroki, right?"

"Yes."

"I'm Onishi Rin," I informed. Turning back ahead, I beckoned the two to follow me. We began walking to our destination.

It was uncomfortable. Not only because it was hot out, but because we were walking in silence. Well, Himawari was happily humming to herself but Todoroki and I were silent. It just got even worse as time went by. So then, I decided to break the ice and speak.

"So... How do you know Himawari-chan?" I asked.

"...We just met."

"Oh. Okay."

Overhearing our conversation, Himawari jumped in.

"Hey, Todoroki-chan! One time, Rin-chan took me to the beach to go swimming! But then a scary octopus came! Me and Rin-chan needed help, so heroes came! It was a bit scary, but I felt better that Rin-chan was there with me," she said. "Hey, hey! Did you know that Rin-chan is super strong?"

"No, I didn't," Todoroki replied.

"Uh, what are you talking about-"

"Yeah! Rin-chan is super strong and brave!" she ignored. "That whole time, Rin-chan didn't scream or cry! At all!"

"U-um, I think that's enough..." I suggested.

"It seems like someone is getting a bit flustered," a familiar voice suddenly said.

I looked ahead to see Mrs. Wren. She wore a big, floppy sunhat with a blue ribbon on the top. She wore a white, floral cami with ankle-length blue jeans. Over her eyes, was sunglasses. As usual, she had expensive jewelry. In her arms were shopping bags. On each side of her were huge men wearing all black. I'm assuming they were her bodyguards.

"Oh. It's you," I said, pointing at her.

"Yes, of course, it is," she retorted. "And how come you're not wearing the shoes I bought? It's not like I really care, I didn't give them to you to look at."

"Uh, I mean, I would wear them but they're too small," I replied.

"Oh. Well, forget it. What's your shoe size?"

"8."

She puffed her chest out.

"W-well, since I'm such a kind person, I will buy you new ones," she said bashfully.

"I don't really think that's necessary-"

"Hush!"

Bringing her perfectly manicured nails up to her eyes, she pulled her sunglasses down to exposed her eyes. They scanned over Himawari and over to Todoroki, stopping on him.

"Hmph! You look familiar. Have we met before?"

Huh? She knows him?

She pulled her shades back up to her eyes.

"Either way, you should be honored to hear this from an esteemed woman like me, young man, but you are quite the looker," she remarked. Hearing that, a confused expression crossed his face.

"Why wouldn't be a looker?" he replied. "I have eyes."

For a split second, she stared at him blankly. Then, she let out a snort.

"Unfortunately, your common sense is lacking..."

She turned to me with a small frown.

"Onishi-san dearie, you ought to teach your boyfriend a bit more."

"Wait what? Uh, this guy? He's not my boyfriend," I quickly said. "We literally just met seven minutes ago."

Well technically, that was a lie. He's always sitting next to me on the train but we've never interacted. Except for that one time when he saw the money in my backpack and I accidentally groped him.

Mrs. Wren let out a gasp.

"Oh! You did what?" she said with wide eyes.

Shoot... I forgot she could read my mind. I shouldn't have said that. Erm, thought that.

"U-um, we gotta go," I said grabbing onto Himawari's arm. "It was nice seeing you, I guess."

I scurried away with Himawari as Todoroki trailed behind. We left the nosy woman behind.

"Rin-chan, who was that pretty lady? Was that your friend?" Himawari innocently asked as we marched away.

"Um...something like that."

"You're friends with the CEO of Wren Inc's wife?" Todoroki asked.

I peered at him.

"Well...it's a bit complicated. We met a few months ago inside a taxi. Our taxi got hijacked by a thug, but then she started going into labor and the thug fainted because of that. I had to drive her to the hospital as the police chased us. I crashed the car but we all turned out fine in the end," I started. "Just last month we were both hostages at Wren Inc."

He didn't say anything. He stared at me with blank eyes. I shrugged carelessly. It probably sounds crazy for a normal person but for me, it was nothing new. I was always running into trouble.

I halted to a stop upon seeing that there was a large crowd in front of us. Civilians were peering at the scene with interest, while police cars surrounded the area.

Another villain attack?

Since they were blocking the entire sidewalk, we had to go around them. Luckily traffic was stopped due to whatever happened, so we were able to go on the street without worrying about getting hit by a truck. I made sure to grab Himawari's hand though. I didn't want her wandering off again.

Himawari let out a cry of glee.

"Yay! Rin-chan is holding my hand!" Turning to Todoroki, she grabbed his hand too. He stiffened.

"I want to hold Todoroki-chan's hand too!"

I glanced at him to see what he would do. He looked a bit uncomfortable but he didn't say anything otherwise. With that, we crossed the street.

As we did, I was able to get a better look at what was happening. There was a car wreck; Two cars, a blue sedan, and a black van. It didn't look like anyone was inside. The only people I saw were two villains getting pushed into a cop car and two familiar heroes, who were arguing with each other.

"Everyone has Uno dipshit. It came free with your fucking Xbox," Masterbaiter annoyingly said.

Static folded her arms.

"Well, mine didn't have it. I have the oldest Xbox known to man."

"What are you talking about? I bought mine on day one, you tard!"

Himawari tugged on my shorts.

"Why are they fighting?"

"It's nothing," I said, dodging the question. "Let's go."

I hurriedly walked by trying to avoid being noticed by the two. Masterbaiter noticed me walking by because he glanced at me. Then jogging over, he pointed at me.

"You! Do you have an Xbox?"

"Uh, what-" I began.

"Do you have an Xbox?!"

Todoroki raised his hand.

"I do," he said.

"Did it come with Uno?"

"...I think so."

Hearing that, Masterbaiter turned to Static in triumph.

"Rin-chan's boyfriend said that his Xbox came with Uno, idiot!" He exclaimed.

Wait, what? Did he just call him my boyfriend?

"Um, he's not my boyfriend-" I said when I got cut off again.

"Ding dong! You are wrong!" Static sang. "He said, _I think so. _It wasn't a yes. So I'm telling you, mine didn't have it."

He pulled out his fishing rod from his back and pointed at her.

"You have Uno you fucking dick!" He cried.

"I don't have it you fucking-"

"YOU HAVE UNOOO!" Masterbaiter exclaimed, cutting Static off.

She stepped toward her angry companion.

"I don't FUCKING have Uno motherfucker!" she exclaimed.

"Um, guys, you do know that an entire crowd is watching you, right? And there's a kid too," I sighed. However, my voice was hardly heard because Masterbaiter and Static started flat out screaming and battling at each other. Masterbaiter was swinging his fishing lure around as Static gracefully dodged it.

"Go to it in the arcade-"

"I don't have two-"

"-and you'll be able to download it for free-"

"I DON'T HAVE THREE, I DON'T HAVE FUCKING FOUR-"

"-you dumb MOTHERFUCKER! IT'S A FUCKING CART GAME!"

"I DON'T HAVE SEVEN-"

"THEY DON'T EVEN CHARGE PEOPLE FOR IT!"

"-EIGHT, NINE, TEN, OR ELEVEN-"

"YOU DON'T KNOW A GODDAMN THING!" Masterbaiter hollered. With the swing of his rod, his line wraps around her ankles making her trip. She fell backward on the cement.

"I DON'T OWN FUCKING UNOOO!" She cried, pointing at him in rage. "I DON'T HAVE UNO!"

He leaned down to her, pulling her up by her collar.

"IT'S FREE AND IT'S FUN!" He screamed.

Out of nowhere, two cards go flying into their heads. Blood spurts out as they both cry out in pain. Shortly after, Blackjack swoops down from the giant card he was floating on above and gracefully lands on his feet. He calmly walks over and pulls the bloody card out of the back of their heads.

"Excuse me, but I think we all have had enough of your silly and childish banter."

I let out a sigh of relief knowing that I wouldn't have to witness the two fools brawl each other further.

Grabbing the two of them by their collars, he threw them on the giant card that had sunk to his level. He stepped upon it.

"I apologize that you and your boyfriend had to see and hear that," he sincerely said. He gave us a bow. "Have a good day."

"He's not my boyfriend," I repeated. I doubt he heard because within a second, he whisked away on his card like a magic carpet.

"Were those your friends too?" Himawari asked, turning to me.

I looked to the side.

"Uh, something like that..." I muttered. "And don't ever say what they said, alright? Your mom and dad won't be too happy if they heard you saying those things."

Since the whole street was closed off, we had to take another route to the shop so we went through the city park. As expected, it was packed with people. There were people out on picnics, walking and taking runs, and a lot of children playing. As we walked down the trail, I noticed that Himawari was beginning to lag behind.

"Did you want to take a break?" I asked her, halting to a stop.

She shook her head tiredly.

"No... I want..to keep...going..."

"Uh, I don't think so," I said, pulling her over to a nearby empty bench. I forced her to sit down.

"You should probably sit down for a bit. We've been walking for a while," I suggested. "Um, if you want, I can go grab some Popsicles."

Hearing that, her dreary eyes lit up. She bounced excitedly.

"Popsicle! Popsicle! I want the strawberry one!" She exclaimed.

I turned to Todoroki.

"Uh, how about you? I can get you one," I asked.

He shook his head. I gave him a shrug and walked off toward the nearest ice cream station. Spotting on a few trees down, I marched over as I pulled out my coin purse.

He was probably only being polite by declining, but I should have enough spare change to get him one too.

Walking up to the ice cream stall, I said, "Uh, can I get a strawberry Popsicle, a honeydew Popsicle, and a coconut Popsicle?"

"Certainly, my dear civilian!" The vendor chirped. "That'll be 900 yen!"

Pulling out a few bills and coins, I handed them over to the vendor. However, I stopped upon seeing that I was face-to-face with a certain strawberry hero.

"Huh? Strawberry Shades? What are you doing here?" I asked. I scanned him up and down. He was wearing a white and light blue apron over his hero costume. He even was still wearing his strawberry hat.

"I'm helping the community, that's what!" He replied. Reaching into the freezer, he pulled out three Popsicles. He handed them over.

"Oh, thanks," I said taking them from his hands. "Not to sound rude to anything, but aren't heroes supposed to be out battling villains and saving people?"

"Well, of course!" He replied. "But heroes must remember to help out with little things, such as running an ice cream stall."

He held his hands out.

"Sometimes, we heroes focus too much on the getting on the big action that we forget to help with the minor inconveniences! Being a hero is about helping everyone, whether their life needs to be saved from a villain or whether a person needs someone to take over their job for a day."

"...Wow. I, uh, didn't expect someone like you to be so...humble," I said. Hearing that, he gasped dramatically. He held his chest as if my words stabbed him.

"Wh-what?! But the hero Strawberry Shades is always humble to his core!"

Not really...

"Hmph! It does not matter!" He huffed. "Now hurry back to your boyfriend and leave me be!"

"He's not my boyfriend," I muttered. "Wait, how'd you know that I was out with a guy?"

A cheeky grin spread across his lips.

"Hehe! That's a secret!"

He must've seen us walking on the trail at some point. Either way, I didn't ask any further questions and I left the strawberry hero to attend to his duties.

"I'm back," I announced, walking over to Himawari.

I handed the strawberry Popsicle to her. Letting out a cry of glee, she ripped the wrapper open like a hungry animal and took a giant bite. Her face turned blue, and she grimaced.

"B-brain freeze!"

I let out a small chuckle. I took a seat next to her. As she enjoyed her icy treat, I turned to Todoroki. Todoroki wasn't sitting next to her anymore. He was standing next to the nearby tree. His back was turned against us. He held up a black phone to his ear. I caught a glimpse of his face, and he looked a bit upset. Whoever he was speaking to didn't make him too happy.

Without warning, he pulled the phone away from his ear and hung up. He glanced at me. Darting my eyes away from him, I looked back to Himawari.

That was awkward. He caught me staring at him.

Todoroki shuffled over to my side and sat down. I peered at him.

"Oh. You're back," I stiffly remarked. "I saw that you were on the phone. Uh, was it your mom?"

Immediately upon saying that, his eyes glazed over. His body tensed up

Crap. I think I made him uncomfortable. Or upset. Maybe both.

"No..." He muttered.

Wait a minute... What if he doesn't have a Mom? And that's why he's so tensed?

If I wasn't already sweating, I began to.

I've done it now. I made everything worse, didn't I?

I'm not sure if Todoroki could tell that I was worried that I offended him or not, but he added,

"It was my father..."

Relief washed over me knowing that I didn't say anything wrong. However, he still looked on edge even mentioning his dad, and I began to wonder if he had issues with him.

"Th-that reminds me," I nervously said trying to steer the conversation away from him. "That...uh, that parents can get pretty scary when you don't pick up the phone. I know my dad does. He grounded me once because I answered the phone with "yeah?" instead of "hello?"."

Todoroki gave me that unwavering stare of his, not helping me relieve the heavy air among us.

"A-anyway," I said holding the two Popsicles out to him. "I know you said you didn't want one but...uh I got one for you. There are honeydew and coconut."

He didn't say anything, as his eyes scanned the icy treats at my fingertips. After a moment of thinking, he said he wanted the honeydew one, so I handed it to him. We ate in silence. Amazingly, it didn't last long because Todoroki spoke up again.

"Onishi is your name, right?" He asked.

"Um, yeah," I said, sucking on the Popsicle.

"Oh. I see," he remarked. "That day when we were on the train..."

Hearing that, I nearly choked on my Popsicle. I nervously looked at him.

Oh crap. He definitely remembers that I touched his crotch. This is bad. I should just leave right now before I screw it up even further. Actually, I should probably say sorry.

"U-uh about that, I didn't mean to touch your..er, crot-" I began when he interrupted me.

"Where did you get your backpack from?"

"...My...backpack? Uh, yeah! My backpack!" I quickly said. "I-I got it from an amusement park in America. I won it as a prize."

I swore I saw a disappointed look cross his eyes as he muttered a quiet "oh, nevermind".

Out of all the things he could've remembered, he asked me where I got my backpack from? I wasn't sure if I should be unimpressed or relieved.

Himawari had already wolfed down her popsicle. Because of that, she had nothing to cool herself down with. Sweat began to appear on her forehead, as she wiped it away with her arm.

"Himawari-chan, did you want my popsicle?" I offered.

She shook her head. She told me that her mom only lets her eat one popsicle a day. What an obedient kid...

"Himawari-chan... Come sit next to me," Todoroki spoke.

He scooted over so there was enough space between me and him. Himawari sat down in between us. She curiously gazed up at him as he extended his right arm out. Frost began to appear from his fingertips that slowly extended up to his elbow. I felt cold air emit from his arm.

Seeing him use his quirk, she almost bounced out of her seat from excitement. Her eyes were big and a look of awe was plastered on her face.

"Wowie! That's so cool!" she exclaimed. She leaned toward him letting out a relaxed sigh.

Lucky us. We got a walking freezer traveling with us. Although, I wish he would've told us sooner before I got sweaty...

After finishing our Popsicles, we continued walking to the cake shop. With that extra dose of sugar, Himawari was back on her feet in an instant. She was practically bouncing around as she skipped through the crowds of people. Todoroki and I were having a hard time keeping up with her. Because of that, my body was drenched with sweat again. We were also able to reach the cake shop in no time.

"Um... Sorry, Himawari-chan..." I stiffly said, staring at the chalkboard sign on the door. "I didn't know that the store was closed today..."

Himawari's previously happy eyes were now full of tears. Seeing that, I began to panic a bit.

"H-hey, it's okay!" I said trying to sound optimistic. "I'm sure your dad went to buy a cake anyway!"

She sadly shook her head.

"D-daddy is working... H-he's too busy to get M-mommy a cake..."

Yep. I'm out of ideas.

I looked at Todoroki for some help. He seemed to get the cue. Kneeling down to her, he gave her an awkward head pat. That only made her burst into tears. Burying her face into his chest, she cried. A few people walking by noticed us, and I tried my best to ignore them.

"H-hey, don't cry..." I pathetically reassured. "If you tell your mom that you went out today to buy her a cake, I'm sure that'll make her very happy."

Himawari peeked up from Todoroki's shirt.

"R-really?" She sniffed.

"Y-yeah! What really matters more is the thought," I said. "Just knowing that you went out of your way to come out when it is very hot to get a cake for her birthday all by yourself is enough to make her happy."

Pulling away from Todoroki's shirt, she wiped away her tears.

"O-okay..." She croaked.

Todoroki stood back up. His chest was soaked with snot and tears. However, he paid no mind to it.

"Himawari-chan..." He spoke. "Your mother...would be-"

His voice was cut off by the sounds of a woman calling out to Himawari. Turning to the right, I saw her mom running over to us. She wore frantic eyes. Her shirt was drenched with sweat.

"Himawari!" She exclaimed. Rushing over, she pulled her into a hug.

"Mommy! You're here!" She happily said.

"Why would you run off without telling me?! Don't you ever do that!" She scolded. Upon seeing the serious look on her face, Himawari's eyes watered.

"I-I-I w-went to get a chocolate cake for your...your...b-birthday..." She stuttered. "I wanted...wanted...to sur-surprise you."

Her eyes became a waterfall as she cried again.

"Rin-chan and Todoroki-chan said you'd be happy that I went to buy a cake! Th-they said that the-the thought counts!" She cried.

Her mom's eyes softened. Then pulling her daughter into a tight hug, she stroked her back.

"Shh... It's okay. Mommy was just worried that you went outside alone. I'm sorry that I yelled at you."

Himawari sniffed.

"I-I wasn't alone. Rin-chan and Todoroki-chan was with me."

Her mom gazed up at us. First, she looked at Todoroki with no problem but when it got to me, her eyes hardened a bit. I guess she was still upset over that whole octopus villain incident.

"I, uh..." I began, when she cut me off.

"It's fine," she snapped. Standing up, she pulled Himawari to her side.

"I still do not think you should go near my daughter, but today is an exception," she said coldly. "I'll let you and your boyfriend off the hook."

She turned around to leave. However before she could pull away, Himawari untangled from her grasped and ran over to us. She held her arms out and gave both of us a hug. Then pulling away, she gave us a wave and scurried back to her mom. The two of them left.

"He's not my boyfriend..." I muttered for the hundredth time. Why do people keep assuming that? Is it because he has a nice face?

I turned to Todoroki and told him that I needed to pick my brother up. He said that he needed to get back home too. With an awkward "goodbye", we parted ways... Well, not really. Although we said we were both heading to different places, he started walking the same way I was going. As we stopped by the streetlight again, I peeked over at him and as expected, he was staring at me.

Maybe it's just a coincidence. Maybe the way back home is this way.

However even as the light turned and we walked across, he continued heading the same way that I was going. It was growing increasingly uncomfortable so I finally asked him,

"Uh... so, which way is home for you?"

"I take the subway home."

"...Oh. That's interesting," I mumbled. "I'm going to the subway station to meet up with my brother..."

Maybe it was because my skin had gotten sunburned or I was sweating like a pig (maybe it was both), but I began to feel a cool air come from my left shoulder. When I turned around, I saw that his arm had frost forming on it. I couldn't help but lean in a bit closer to him; I didn't care. It was scorching out, and I've been sizzling in the sun for way too long.

For once, I'm glad that I ended up next to this guy.


	13. Panic! At the Festival Part 1

"Phew! It's scorching today!" The strawberry hero remarked, fanning his face with one of his gloves.

I squinted down at my sandaled feet that were hanging off the top of the building. I watched as the street below us bustled with energy. There were a lot of people out today, especially since it was Friday.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to say," I started, turning to Strawberry Shades. "Uh, thanks for getting me out of there. You know, from being shoved into a van."

He let out a hearty laugh.

"But of course! When I see a civilian in danger, my hand pulsates with anger. I must save the day; it is in my heroic nature!"

"Um...yeah," I muttered dryly. "Anyway, can you get me off this building? I need to go pick up my brother's comics at the store."

"Oh yes! I heard that your brother's back!" he chirped. "He's a hero too, right?"

"He works in Murato City at his friend's hero agency," I replied. "But technically, he isn't a hero yet. He's stuck doing paperwork."

"That is why I exactly hate hero agencies! They ignore the heroes with true passion in their hearts and let the heroes who are only in it for the money steal the spotlight!"

"Um, is that why you became a vigilante?"

"Exactly! Justice shouldn't have a price! Though, I guess it would be nice to get rewarded from time to time, and maybe get invited to talk shows..."

So much for justice not having a price...

"Rin-chan! I have an idea!" he exclaimed, right in my ear. I jerked back a bit.

Jumping up from the ground, he pointed at me.

"There's a festival happening tomorrow evening! You should totally go!" he excitedly said.

"Oh, you must be talking about the annual Hero Festival," I said. "Uh, but why should I go...?"

He gasped.

"Because I'm gonna be there! The rest of Blackbird is too! Even the boss is coming!"

"...Ok?"

"_Ok?!" _ he cried in disappointment. Tears began streaming down his cheeks. He collapsed on the ground and began bowing in desperation.

"Please! You have to come! There's gonna be games, food, and parades! And the fireworks! All the cool heroes are gonna be there, too!" he pleaded.

Oh, wow. He's actually being humble for once.

"You must come! Who would pass up the grand opportunity of hanging out with the fabulous hero: Strawberry Shades?!"

Nevermind.

I let out a sigh.

"...Fine. I guess I can come..." I muttered stiffly. Immediately upon hearing that, he jumped up from the ground and grabbed both of my hands. He began to shake them furiously in glee.

"I knew you would say yes!" he said. "It's gonna be so much fun!"

He held his hand out and a giant seed the size of a sled appeared. It wasn't fully formed, and it was hollow in the center. It was like a dome. He placed it on the ground in front of me. Picking me effortlessly off the floor, he plopped me on the seed.

"Uh, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Blackbird's gonna be waiting at the entrance next to the giant All Might blow up doll. Meet us there at 7:00!" he ignored.

"You didn't answer my-"

I didn't finish because he pushed me off the building. I slid down the side of it as the wind blew in my face. I grasped the edges of the makeshift seed sled. I hit the cement with a _thud! _It kind of hurt my butt. Passerbys stared at me with wide eyes seeing me make my sudden appearance.

The least he could've done is given me a warning...

"Rin-chan!" I heard Strawberry Shades yell from above. I looked up to see him peering down at me.

"Bring your brother, too!" he said.

He gave me a sparkling grin. Turning around, he ran off.

»»—- —-««

"All done!" Mom announced, finishing wrapping the bow on the back. She pushed me to the mirror on the wall.

I was wearing a yukata. It was lavender with pale pink cherry blossoms printed on. The sash was pink too, but it was a bit more saturated than the flowers on the yukata. Although this was Mom's old one, it still looked good as new.

Mom was somehow able to fix my hair into something presentable. I don't know how she did it, but she put my short hair into a braided bun. There was an assortment of flower hairclips embedded inside the braids. For the finishing touch, there was a big white flower that was clipped on the right side.

I don't really care about fashion but this outfit looked nice. When I told Mom that, she went bonkers.

"You look so beautiful!" Mom giggled. She pulled out her phone and snapped a photo. "Let's go show your father!"

"Uh, I don't think that's necessary..." I mumbled. However, she was already dragging me downstairs and into the living room.

Dad and Hiro were downstairs. Hiro was at the front door putting his shoes on while Dad was sitting in front of the tv. When we got downstairs, Hiro immediately took notice of us. His eyes glimmered.

"That really suits you, Rin!" he complimented.

Hearing that, Dad turned around to look at me. He squinted his eyes at me for a moment. Then, he turned back around.

"...You look nice, I suppose," I said gruffly.

"That's it? After all my hard work!" Mom grumbled.

After that, I went to go put on my wooden sandals. I hated wearing them. They're so uncomfortable. I asked Mom if I could just wear my regular flipflops, but she said no.

"Are you ready?" Hiro asked me, opening the front door.

We began to leave when Dad appeared behind us. He stopped us.

"Hiro. Make sure you watch her, alright?" he said sternly.

"Of course!"

"And..." Dad began. He coughed awkwardly and closed his eyes.

"Make sure...there aren't any boys hitting on her... G-got it?"

I mentally face palmed myself. This is embarrassing...

Again, Hiro agreed. With that, we left.

"Oh, yeah! I forgot to tell you all! I got promoted!" Hiro happily said as we walked.

"How do you forget something that important?" I asked.

He chuckled sheepishly.

"W-well, I was just so glad to be back home that I forgot..."

As we walked to the festival grounds, I asked Hiro about the incident with Crimson Eclipse and if he was there.

His eyes looked the other way as he spoke.

"Crimson Eclipse? Those are dangerous people," he remarked tensely. "But no, I wasn't there during the infiltration. I just got promoted during that time, and they didn't want my first mission to be something that important."

"Uh, okay. I was just wondering," I replied. "Well, now that you're a hero... Um, you're supposed to have a hero name, right?"

Hiro nodded.

"Yeah but... I don't know what to call myself..."

"Why don't you use your real name?" I suggested. "Hiro basically sounds likes _hero, _and you're a hero now. I think it's fitting enough."

"Hm, maybe..."

"Riny! Over here!" I heard Static exclaim from afar.

Hiro and I looked ahead to see three people. I saw Static, Mitsumu, and Furutani. They were waiting at the entrance next to the All Might blow-up doll. However, they weren't wearing their hero costumes. Static was wearing a blue yukata with green and yellow flowers on it. Her hair was pulled into two messy buns that looked like they were on the brink of falling apart. Mitsumu was wearing an oversized sweater with cropped jeans. He wore a backpack. Instead of wearing his pink cat face sleeping mask, he wore a red demon kabuki mask that was moved to the side of his face. Furutani was surprisingly wearing a yukata, but it looked more liked funeral kimono instead. She still wore her usual black veil over her face.

When Strawberry Shades said that they were going to be at the festival, I thought they were going to be wearing their costumes. It was a bit weird seeing them without their hero costumes.

"Oh! Are those your friends you were talking about?" Hiro asked me innocently.

Hiro and I went over to them. When getting there, Static gave me a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Nice to see that you came. Shades said you were gonna come," she said. Her brown eyes gazed over at Hiro. Seeing him, her eyes widened.

"You must be Onishi Hiro! I've heard a bunch abouta you," she chirped. Leaning toward him to get a better look of his face, she said,

"And you're kind of cute too! Are you single?"

Hiro's face flushed pink. Meanwhile, Mitsumu let out a giggle. He pushed Static aside.

"Nyehe! It's wonderful to meet you in person!" he said with a grin. "I've heard that your quirk is pretty amazing. Do you mind demonstrating?"

"Um, can we just go inside?" I suggested with a sigh.

"No can do!" Mitsumu said. "We're still missing someone."

It must be Strawberry Shades. He's running late, even though he was the one who invited me out...

"Ahem... Uh... You guys haven't told him your names," I reminded.

Static immediately spoke first.

"Call me Kazama!" she chirped.

Hm? That must be her real name then. I guess it makes sense to use it instead of Static. That'll be a bit weird if she used her hero name.

"I'm Mitsumu!" the curly blonde said.

Furutani let out a sad groan.

"...Furu...tani..." she mumbled.

I guess those two used their hero names... Unless their hero names are their real names?

Hiro gave each of them a warm smile. I swore I saw a Static get struck by a cupid.

"I'm Onishi Hiro. Though, it seems like you all know that already," he said. Peering to me, he said, "You all must be close to my sister since you're already on a first-name basis!"

Now that I think about it, they have been calling me by my first name. Maybe it's because they actually haven't heard my surname until now...

"Oh yeah! We're best buddies!" Static said, wrapping her arms around my shoulder.

"Um, not really-"

"Heyo! I'm here!" a voice said from behind.

Before I could even turn, I saw Static's eyes widen in shock. Mitsumu let out an amused giggle. Furutani looked shocked too but it looked like she was a bit scared. Hiro turned around and said,

"Hello! You must be my sister's other friend."

I turned around. And I gotta say, the rest of Blackbird had a reason to be shocked.

Standing in front of us was a handsome stud. He was a tall guy. He had chocolate skin. A strand of dark curly hair fell on his forehead and slightly grazed his thick eyebrows. He had nice eyes. His eye color was green, and he had long, gentle eyes. He wore a gray yukata with dark gray stripes.

The mysterious ikeman nodded.

"F-friend? Y-yes! I am Onishi Rin's friend!" he exclaimed in a booming voice.

"Wait, wait, wait! Hold on a dang minute!" Static suddenly said, jumping in between them. She pointed at the handsome dude.

"Sh-shades? Is that you?!"

"Nope!" he exclaimed. He gave us a thumbs up. "I am Barry!"

He gave us a dazzling smile that blinded Static, Mitsumu, Furutani, and I. It also gave Static a bit of a nosebleed too.

Mitsumu giggled.

"Nyhehe! To think that you're out of costume! What a shock!"

I peered over at the ikeman.

Now that I think about it, this wasn't the first time I've seen this guy. Wasn't he one of the Crimson Eclipse grunts at the hideout? He was the one I bumped into. I remember Mitsumu and Static saying that some of Blackbird went disguised as new members of the villain group. And if my hunch is correct, then this guy is...

"G-gwah?! It really is Shades!" Static cried. "I can't believe this good-looking stud is him..."

"No... I refuse to believe..." Furutani began. Her gray fingers began to do a weird, wriggling motion.

"This devil man...is an imposter! He's an incubus!"

"Ah...what?" I said in confusion.

A dark look overcame her face. A crazy look formed in her eyes as she spoke.

"What did he do with him...? It couldn't have been because of what I did last night... No... The ritual... Could it be I miscalculated? It can't be..."

Furutani continued to mumble incomprehensively to herself. Meanwhile, I introduced Hiro to Barry, aka, Strawberry Shades.

"Uh, yeah... This is my other friend..." I began. Hearing me say "friend", Strawberry Shade's eyes glimmered in glee. I ignored him and continued.

"This is Strawber-, er, _Barry."_

Hiro shook hands with him.

"I'm Onishi Hiro, Rin's brother."

"I'm Barry, Rin's friend."

The two of them gave each other a grin. With the combined forces of their smiles, they were literally a shining beacon that attracted a horde of moths. Did I say moths? I meant girls. There was suddenly an abundance of girls nearby. They blinded everyone. I had to squint my eyes.

With that, we went through the entrance and into the festival grounds. As expected, the place was packed. People wore yukatas, but I also spotted some of the kids wearing hero costumes. We had to squeeze through the line of people who were buying and waiting for food and merchandise at the stalls. The entire place smelled like delicious food.

"Where're the others?" Strawberry Shades asked as we walked by the stalls.

"Ms. Boss and Blackjack will come later. Masterbaiter's helping his uncle run the goldfish game," Static replied. "Heh! And we're gonna visit him!"

The goldfish game was packed. There were a ton of kids next to the pool of goldfish. A lot of them looked like they were gonna cry. Their paper nets kept breaking.

Behind the stand was a grumpy-looking guy. His blue eyes were slanted downward, and so were his eyebrows. His long bangs were tied back. He wore a light blue casual shirt that was unbuttoned with a white tank top underneath. He was fanning himself with a tired look on his face.

"Hey! Masterbaiter! Over here!" Static called, waving her arms.

The guy running the game immediately looked at us. We went over to him. When we got there, he scolded her.

"Shut your trap! We're in public! You're supposed to call me Mizushima!" he whispered yelled.

Static just shrugged her shoulders. Mizushima, aka Masterbaiter, gazed at me.

"It's the little squirt," he said. He looked at Hiro. "And her brother."

"Hello. I'm Onishi Hiro," Hiro introduced.

"Mizushima," he said gruffly.

"You sure have a lot on your hands, Mizu-chan!" Mitsumu said coyly, glancing at the long line.

"All thanks to my damn uncle. He said he was gonna take a quick break but it's been 2 hours," he bitterly said. "Anyway, you gotta go to the end of the line if you wanna play."

"What? How come?" Static whined. "Aren't we your friends?"

"Just go to the end of the line!"

"Hmph..." she huffed, beginning to walk away. "Jerk."

"Screw off!"

We were pushed to the end of the line. We waited for a good ten minutes before reaching the front.

"Heh! I was the master at this back when I was a youngin'!" Static boasted picking up a paper net. Immediately after attempting to scoop up a tiny goldfish, her net broke.

"What? This game is rigged!" she complained, pointing at Masterbaiter.

"What the hell are you talking about? You just suck, that's all," he retorted.

"Why don't you try it then?" Static challenged. "Since you're the _Masterbaiter."_

Picking up a fishnet, he scooped up a goldfish with ease. Seeing that, Static had no choice but to admit her shortcomings. After a bit more "I told you so" by Masterbaiter, she walked away and went to sulk by the ring toss game beside us.

"Do not be saddened, my dear friend!" Strawberry Shades said. "We all have different talents!"

Static gave him a dirty look.

"You be quiet! I know you were able to get a fish!" she exclaimed. "Mitsumu got one too! And even Furutani! I bet Onishi Rin's gonna get one too..."

"A-ah, Kazama-san, it's okay," Hiro said, trying his best to reassure her. "I couldn't do it either."

I sighed. Then I stepped up to the pool of water. Masterbaiter handed me a paper net.

I stared at the pool of water. Tiny goldfish were swimming around. I scanned the water for the closest one. As I reached over to scoop it up, I bumped shoulders with the person beside me.

"Hey! Watch it!" a rough voice barked.

Turning to the side, I saw Bakugo. He wasn't wearing a yukata. Instead, he was wearing a black t-shirt with a skull on it. He wore gray shorts and flipflops.

He gave me a cross look.

"Ha? It's Coconut Head," he said. "What the hell are you doin' here?"

"Um, fishing."

"No shit," he grumbled. "Move it. You're in my way."

He nudged me to move. I did, but I ended up bumping into a little kid that was behind me. Because of that, I made her paper net break, and her fish was able to escape.

"My fishie..." she sniffed.

"O-oh. I'm sorry..." I awkwardly said, turning around.

Himawari was standing there wearing a yellow yukata. Her black hair was pulled into two high buns. Her eyes were full of tears. Meanwhile, her mom that was next to her gave me a dirty look.

Ah, crap. Her mom's mad, and Himawari's about to cry.

"U-uh, it's okay. Don't cry," I nervously said. "I'll catch one for you."

I dunked my net into the water. I went to scoop up a goldfish when I bumped shoulders with Bakugo again. That made both of our paper nets tear.

"What the hell, man?" he said angrily. "I told you to move outta my way!"

"I'm trying to catch a fish for someone..."

"Like I care!"

I gave him a frown.

"Why do you keep acting like this?" I blurted.

His eyes fueled up in anger. He reached over and grabbed the right sleeve of my yukata.

Ah, crap. I shouldn't have said that. He's pissed.

Before he could do anything, I saw a hand fall on Bakugo's shoulder. I peered up to see Hiro standing there.

Although he looked calm, he didn't feel like it. He was angry, yet it was composed. I could tell that he was ready to jump in at any moment now. I was used to seeing this look on his face since he was there to fight off my bullies. Usually, I would feel relieved seeing that expression, but I wasn't. I was unsettled. It looked like there was a dark storm in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Hiro asked, eerily.

Bakugo gave him a glare.

"It's none of your business."

I couldn't peel my eyes away from the look on his face. My heart started thumping in my chest. It was getting louder and louder. I was breathing with the same tempo.

**Thump, thump, thump. **

"H...Hi...Hiro," I stuttered.

**In, out, in.**

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"There's nothing wrong. I just bumped into him and accidentally broke his net. It's my fault."

Hiro's eyes gazed over to Bakugo, who looked ready to sock him in the face.

"Nyhehe! I have no use for this!" Mitsumu suddenly said from behind. The heavy tension was immediately nullified upon making his appearance.

"Here ya go, little girl. You can take Remi," he said, bending down to Himawari. He held the goldfish that was in the bag out to her.

Himawari gazed up at him with wide eyes.

"R-Remi?"

Mitsumu giggled.

"Remi's the name!" he chirped. "I forgot that I had a buncha fishies at home. I have no room for Remi. How about you take her instead?"

Hope glimmered in her eyes.

"R-really?"

"Nyhe! I'm 100% sure!"

She let out a delighted squeal. She grabbed the bag from his hands.

"Oh my... Thank you so much!" Himawari's mom said.

"Shucks, I didn't do much! She can have it."

"...I'm sorry. I couldn't catch one for you," I apologized to Himawari.

Himawari gave me a smile.

"It's okay, Rin-chan! Don't be sad that you couldn't catch one!" she reassured. "'Sides, what really matters more is the thought!"

**Thump... Thump... Thump...**

I took a deep breath. A small smile formed on my lips.

"Yeah..."

Himawari and her mom left. Bakugo left too, though I don't remember seeing him leave.

After that, Masterbaiter yelled at us and told us we were holding up the line, so we left.

"Awh man! I'm hungry! What should we eat first?" Static said as she hungrily scanned the food stalls. "Hey! There's takoyaki over there! Imma go get some!"

Hiro raised his hand.

"I'll come along too."

"Perfect idea. With that cute face of yours, I'm sure the vendor will give you a discount."

Hiro's cheek turned pink.

"H-huh?" he stuttered. He glanced at me.

"Did you want to come, Rin?"

How can he do that? He was able to switch back so quickly...

"Awh! She'll be fine!" Static reassured. She went behind him and pushed him away from us.

Meanwhile, Mitsumu had the same idea that Static had. Since we still had one more good-looking person in the group, Mitsumu made Strawberry Shades go with him to get some hotdogs on a stick. They left me and Furutani by the flagpole.

"I'm surprised you came..." she quietly said.

"And I'm surprised you came too," I remarked. "I thought that you weren't the type for, uh, social events."

"I came...for the fireworks..."

The fireworks were always something to look forward to. The fireworks display at the Hero's Festival was one that was particularly favored. It was the most popular attraction at the festival after the meet and greet, and the parade.

"Oh yeah. The fireworks are pretty cool," I agreed.

"They're the perfect time for trouble..." Furutani darkly said. "It must...be much easier to...get away with crime during the show... No one would be able to hear you scream..."

I peered over at her worriedly.

"Uh... What?"

Her dull eyes gazed up at the sky.

"Something feels...off this evening... I can feel the energy... The air is heavy tonight..."

"What do you mean?"

Her eyes fell on me.

"Your brother... He's a bit strange..."

That dull expression in his eyes flashed in my head. That look on his face... I've seen it once before. The blank stare, the shadow over his eyes... It's that look he wore that one time; that time where he injured one of his classmates that pushed me down the stairs.

I can remember it. It was one of the older kids. He was teasing me. I ignored him, just like I always did to my bullies. It didn't work. It escalated. He began shoving me around and pulling my hair. He called me names. I did my best not to fight back, to not let my anger show but then...

_"What? Are you gonna cry? Your big brother isn't coming! If you tell him about this, I'll beat him until he can't move any more! I smash his face in!"_

It didn't do me any good. The moment my fists collided into his face was the moment he pushed me down.

My finger twitched.

Hiro beat that kid up pretty badly. I saw everything. I would feel relieved whenever he came to help me but that day...

**Thump, thump, thump.**

"Onishi-san..." Furutani said, breaking me from my thoughts. I suddenly felt her cold hands gently fall on mine. Her gray eyes stared at me.

"You're..."

I quickly pulled my hands away from her fingertips. I curled them into a tight ball, trying to keep them as still as I could.

**There's nothing wrong, Rin. Just stay calm.**

"S...Sorry..." I stuttered. "I...ah... I'm feeling kinda of sick."

Furutani's unwavering gaze stayed on me. Then, she peeled her eyes away and looked up at the sky.

"...Nevermind... Forget...what I said..."

"We are back!" Strawberry Shades's shrill voice announced.

In his hands were two corndogs. Mitusmu had two more in his hands. Behind them were Hiro and Static, who each held two paper plates of steaming takoyaki.

"So... Did you guys actually get a discount?" I asked as we went to go find an empty place on the grass to go sit at. Mitsumu pulled out a blanket from his backpack, and Hiro helped him lay it on the grass.

"Not us," Static replied disappointingly. "There was an old guy running the takoyaki stand, so we had to pay full price."

"I mean, I doubt it would've worked if it was a girl anyway..."

"We didn't get a discount but a couple of girls let us go in front of us!" Mitsumu added. "All thanks to Strawbarry!"

Strawberry Shades, who was stuffing himself with a corndog, looked up innocently.

"Mmph? Mmhat youv svay?"

Everyone sat down on the picnic blanket to eat the food as Mitsumu passed out water bottles. The food was delicious. The takoyaki was still hot but not enough to burn my tongue. I plopped it into my mouth to taste the exploding sensation of octopus, fried batter, and dried fish flakes.

Other people might like going to festivals for the events, but I like coming for the food.

"Who's ready for round 2?" Static asked. "I'm in the mood for some chicken. I'm gonna go buy some Yakitori!"

Mitsumu stood up.

"Alrighty! I'll go get Yakisoba!"

"I must simply get mochi then!" Strawberry Shades piped in.

"I can go grab some corn," Hiro offered.

"I'll go with you," I said.

He shook his head.

"No, it's okay. You can stay."

I stood up and told him that it was fine. I might buy something on the way.

"Okay! Then it's set!" Strawberry Shades said. He pointed at Furutani.

"Watch the fort for us, and make sure nobody destroys it!"

It's not like she had a choice...

We split up. Hiro and I merged back into the crowd as we tried to search for the corn stall. I thought there were a lot of people when we arrived, but now there was even more. It was hard to navigate with so many people. I kept bumping shoulders with people to the point where I stopped apologizing to them.

"Do you see one, Rin?" Hiro asked.

I tippy-toed so I can see over the crowd. I scanned the stalls on the right and the left.

"Nope," I replied.

We tried our best to squeeze through but it was no use. We were moving so slow. Not to mention, it was getting hot. Wearing a yukata being surrounded by all these people when there's food being cooked did not mix well. It was suffocating.

"Maybe we should go another way," I suggested turning to Hiro. When I looked, I saw that he wasn't there. I turned around trying to find him but he was nowhere in sight.

He's gone. Where the heck did he go?

I managed to get away from the crowd. I went to go stand near a lantern. Pulling out my phone, I dialed Hiro's number.

_Ring... Ring... Ring... _

The phone stopped ringing. I heard someone pick up the call.

"Hiro, where did you go? You just, uh, left me here," I said.

"...Hiro's not here... He's gone..." A nasal voice responded.

"Furutani? Um, why do you have Hiro's phone?" I asked.

"He left it..."

That's just great. How am I supposed to get in touch with him now?

"Um... Call me if he goes back to our spot."

"...I suppose..."

I hung up. Stuffing my phone back into my pink sash, I let out a groan.

I guess I have to go find him now.

And so, I began my search. My very tedious search.

"Where did he run off to?" I mumbled to myself as I scanned the people's faces. I didn't have too much luck looking around the food stalls, so I went to go look by the lakeside where there were fewer people. As I did, I accidentally bumped into someone.

"What the fuck?!" a certain spiky blonde cursed.

Bakugo turned around with rage in his eyes. He was eating a snowcone that had stained his shirt. Next to him were his two friends: the one with the John Lennon haircut and the one with way too much gel in his hair.

"Oi, look! It's Onishi!" the one with gel announced.

Bakugo glared at me. I darted my eyes and mumbled a quick "sorry", but that didn't work. Igniting his snowcone with his hands, he dropped it to the ground and smashed it with his sandal. Then walking up to me, he said,

"Why are you always in my way?"

I cautiously backed away, refusing to look at him in the eyes.

"I'm sorry..." I repeated.

Jeez, just leave me alone. It was an accident...

His friend with the John Lennon haircut snickered.

"Hey Bakugo, you should make her buy you a new snowcone," he suggested.

"I don't have any money with me..." I remarked.

"Why don't you get your brother then?" Bakugo slyly said. "Hm... He's not here. Well, sucks for you."

His two friends behind him laughed mockingly. An evil grin appeared on Bakugo's lips. He leaned down to me. He smelled like sugar.

"Don't expect your brother to save you this time. And don't even think about tattling," he growled.

I bit my lip and didn't say anything. I squeezed the fabric of my yukata with my fingers.

**Thump... thump... thump...**

"Hey, I'm talkin' to you."

He nudged me back and my wooden sandals clattered on the cement. Upon doing so, he immediately stopped in front of me.

"Not so tough anymore, huh?" he taunted.

When he said that, I felt like he wasn't referring to when I talked back to him at the goldfish pool. It felt like he meant from that time we had Saturday detention... The time where I accidentally lost my cool.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I lowered my eyes.

**Thump. Thump. Thump.**

Bakugo's friends snickered meanly. A triumph grin crossed Bakugo's face.

"That's what I fucking thought."

He leaned down next to my ear.

"The next time your brother puts a hand on me..."

I clenched my jaw.

"I'll fucking blast his damn face off."

Bakugo and his friends cackled amongst themselves. My hands trembled as I gripped my yukata tighter.

**Relax. Just breathe.**

"Oi, Bakugo! It looks like she's getting mad!" The one with the gel pointed.

"Man, this gotta be the first time!" The John Lennon haircut guy replied. "Hey, you think she's gonna use her quirk on us?"

"Yeah right! I bet she's quirkless like that broccoli head!"

**I can't let them know.**

"Scram," Bakugo ordered to me.

Turning the other way, I stiffly walked away.

**Thump. Thump. Thump.**

_"What? __Are you gonna cry? Your big brother isn't coming!"_

I halted to a stop. I let a breath of air out.

"What are you doing? I thought I told you to scram," Bakugo said. Coming behind me, he placed a hand on my shoulder.

_"If you tell him about this, I'll beat him until he can't move any more! I smash his face in!"_

I slapped his hand away from me. I felt my veins pulsating in my trembling fists. Turning around, I stared straight into his red eyes. They were angry, but I didn't care. It was all boiling over.

"Don't touch me," I said through my teeth.

"What the fuck did you say..?" Bakugo hissed. A tight-lipped smile appeared on his face.

**Thump, thump, thump.**

"I said... Don't touch me."

A fire ignited in his eyes. He began to move his hands up to ready his blasts. But before it could happen, a voice cries out.

"Kacchan!"

Spinning around, Bakugo spots Midoriya scampering over to us. He wore a frightened look in his wide eyes. His unruly hair blew in the wind as he ran. He ran past Bakugo's friends and pushed me away from Bakugo.

"Y-you found Onishi," he stuttered. His hands were slowly wrapping around my arm. "I-I was looking for her..."

His eyes glanced at me nervously.

"Let's go. The parade is going to start soon."

Pulling me away, we speedily made our escape. Bakugo didn't say anything. He didn't follow us.

I did it again. I let him see.

"O-Onishi-san... Are you okay?" Midoriya asked, glancing at me worriedly.

What's wrong with me? Why can't I hold it in anymore?

I gulped.

"...I'm... I'm fine..."

And just as I said that, an explosion erupted.


	14. Panic! At the Festival Part 2

The shrill sounds of a firecracker echoed in the air. Turning to the sky, I saw a tiny orb fly up in the sky. It erupted into little pieces of blue, sparkling stars. I watched as they glittered away and disappeared into the night.

"Ph-phew! That scared me," Midoriya remarked, clutching his chest.

I stared up at the darkness expecting another firework to appear but nothing happened. People around us were confused too. Talking amidst themselves, a young girl with oval eyes that resembled a tadpole said,

"That's weird! How come there's only one?"

The girl next to her that I'm assuming was her sister, shrugged. She suggested that maybe they fired it off on accident. That made sense. It must've been a mistake. It's not the time for the fireworks display either; that happened after the parade and the meet-and-greet.

Midoriya turned to me.

"I'm sorry that I came so suddenly. You must've been surprised," he apologized. "It looked like you were in trouble with Kacchan, so..."

I shook my head. I reassured him that what he did was a smart move. I thanked him for helping me, yet he denied that he did anything special.

"No... I really mean it," I told him earnestly. "I...I'm not sure what would've happened if you didn't come."

He was quiet for a moment. He looked a bit guilty for some reason. I didn't understand why. It's not his fault that Bakugo's such a jerk.

It was getting a bit awkward, so I decided to speak.

"I was wondering... Um... Why do you call Bakugo-kun _Kacchan?" _

"About that..." Midoriya began with a hint of bashfulness. "We have known each other since we were kids. That's what I called him. I guess I still call him that out of habit."

"I see..." I quietly remarked.

Is that why he went to save him from the sludge monster? Because he was his childhood friend?

Noticing his All Might t-shirt, I asked him if he came to see the heroes.

"O-oh! Yeah. I came to watch the parade. I was hoping that I could maybe meet with some of the heroes that are coming. I really wanted to see Endeavor and maybe get his autograph, but he's kind of intimidating..."

If I'm right, Endeavor was the hero who was always surrounded by flames. He had a fire-based quirk. He's the second-best hero after All Might, and some people say he's salty over that. Well, that's what Static said to me.

"Are you here to see the heroes too?" Midoriya asked.

"Not really," I replied. "I came here because some of my friends forced me to come."

"Then you should go meet back with them! I must be holding you up!"

"No, it's alright. You're not-"

"I'm sorry! I'll go now!"

"Wait-"

But he was already running off. He didn't get really far because one of the festival employees told me he couldn't cross the street. The parade was starting.

Pushing my way through the crowd that had formed, I made my way back to Midoriya. He noticed me and he let out a small shriek.

"Eek! You scared me, Onishi-san!" he said. "I thought you went to look for your friends."

"No... It's fine. I can't go across the street since the parade's starting," I said. "I'll find them once they pass."

The sound of drums began to play. Looking to the right, a line of drummers began marching down the street. Excited chatter rose in the crowd. Men with red facepaint blew fire at us with their quirks. Costumed heroes on floats came by and waved at us. I recognized a few of them, particularly Midnight and Gunhead. Gunhead, who noticed me, gave me a wave. I waved back awkwardly. Most people would be ecstatic if that were to happen to them, but I was a bit embarrassed. I've gotten into so much trouble that heroes recognize me...

People clapped and cheered as more heroes walked by.

"Woo!"

"Thank you for everything, heroes!"

"Please sit on my face!"

"We love you!"

Glancing at Midoriya, his eyes had grown wide. They were sparkling with amazement and awe. A bright smile was plastered on his face. Seeing him so excited made the edges of my lips curl up.

He's so passionate about heroes. I wonder if I'll ever feel that way toward something...

"Look! It's Endeavor!" A voice announced.

The crowd noticeably got livelier upon the Number 2 hero making his appearance. A tall man wearing a stern expression walked through. He wore a tight jumpsuit that fluctuated his muscular build and had steel gauntlets on each of his arms. His hot flames that served as a mask and mustache fluttered in the wind as he passed by. He didn't bother interacting with the crowd.

"W-wow! It's the Number 2 hero!" Midoriya gasped. "His quirk is Hellflame, that allows him to control an intense fire at will..."

Midoriya began muttering incomprehensively to himself, which is something that he does often. I wouldn't be surprised if he pulls out his notebook and starts jotting things down.

While inspecting the parade, Endeavor and I locked eyes. Although I looked away a second later, I felt his deep and callous gaze pierce into me.

What's with him? Why's he staring at me?

Just as he passed by, another firework shot up in the air.

"Another one...?" I mumbled turning around.

Bending my neck back, I saw an orb of light speeding up. But for some reason, it didn't look right. Something felt off.

_"It must...be much easier to...get away with crime during the show..."_

"Um, Midoriya-kun... We should go..." I cautiously said. I placed my hand on his shoulder but kept my gaze on the firework.

"Hm? Why? The parade isn't done."

The orb exploded. The sky erupted in red sparkles. But it wasn't a regular one. As it began to take shape, the figure of the letter "C" appeared. And then, more exploded. They were letters: "R", "I", "M", "S", "O", "N".

Another one flew up in the air. It was so loud; it sounded like a bomb. When it took form, it was different from the others. It wasn't a letter this time. As I squinted my eyes at the darkness, my heart skipped.

**It's a moon. An eclipse.**

"I really think we should leave," I said again, nudging Midoriya more sternly.

Midoriya turned to me innocently.

"What's wrong, Onishi-san? You look worried."

Before I could reply, a deafening explosion erupted in front of us. Midoriya and I ducked. We shielded ourselves with our hands as smoke blew in our faces. I heard people screaming and yelling. It smelled like burnt rubber and wood. And soon, I smelled fire. By the time the smoke cleared up enough to where I could see, I saw a fire in the distance, along with several figures wearing red uniforms. They each had bandanas that covered their mouths.

"O-Onishi-san, where are you?" Midoriya coughed. I barely heard him because my ears were ringing.

"I'm here," I quickly responded. I stretched my fingers out and grabbed onto his shirt. I peered around cautiously. I saw the uniformed villains begin to make their way into the crowd. Shouting and shrieking echoed all around us.

"We gotta go."

Clutching his left arm, I pulled him up on his feet. I navigated through the smoke trying to find my way back to the lakeside. I could see a bit amidst all the coverage, but it was hard.

"Is it a villain attack?" Midoriya pondered. "But how? I thought security was tight at this festival."

"I...I don't know," I replied. Seeing that the smoke was clearing up ahead, I ran.

We escaped from the smokescreen. Inhaling the fresher air, I let out a coughing fit. It made my chest hurt. And yet, we began running away. All around us, people were sprinting to safety. Some were getting knocked down by the Crimson Eclipse grunts. I saw heroes from the parade battling.

Midoriya's phone started ringing. On the other side of the line, I can hear his mother speaking.

"Izuku! Where are you?!" she worriedly exclaimed. "There's been a villain attack by the lake!"

Hearing that, his eyes grew wide. A horrified expression crossed his face. His hands started shaking.

"I-I'm... I'm by the lake," he shivered.

"Oh no... Izuku, you have to get out of there! Please!"

"I'm not leaving until I find you. Where are you?"

"I'm outside the festival grounds! People are evacuating, but you need to hurry! There's a wall that's getting made that'll lock whoever is still inside!"

I gazed up at the sky to see that a giant force field was in the process of being made. I gulped.

That's bad news. We need to hurry before we're toast.

"O-Okay! I'm coming!" Midoriya reassured.

"Please hurry!"

Midoriya hung up and placed his phone in his pockets. Turning to me, he told me the current situation.

"I understand," I said, as we ran on the pavement. My wooden sandals clattered with every step. Along with that, I felt a pain in my heels. Because of that, I was lagging behind. Not to mention, running in a yukata was nearly impossible too.

Midoriya slowed down and turned around.

"Onishi-san! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It just that these sandals are killing me..." I replied bitterly.

Bending down, I began to take them off. But as I did, I saw a Crimson grunt charged toward Midoriya. Without thinking, I pitched the sandal in my hand at him. Somehow I was able to hit him perfectly in the face. The sounds of wood hitting his nose clattered.

"Ow! What the hell?!" he exclaimed.

I threw my other sandal at him too. He yelped.

"Let's go!" I said dashing up to Midoriya. We scurried away.

My bare feet slapped on the cold cement as we ran through the chaos. Everyone was running. They were all rushing toward one spot which was the entrance of the festival grounds. Amidst all the screaming and yelling, I heard a voice blast through the speakers.

"Attention! There has been a villain attack by the lakeside. I repeat, there has been a villain attack by the lakeside. Please make your way to the entrance in an orderly fashion."

It's a little too late for that.

From the corner of my eye, I spotted a young woman with white hair. Some of her strands were red. She wore glasses. She was scurrying away from a snake-like villain, who was slithering after her. She was clutching her right arm that looked like it had gone limp.

"Get over here! You ain't going nowhere!" The snake hissed.

"O-Onishi-san, we have to help!" Midoriya cried. He begins to detour off the path when I stopped him.

"...We can't."

"What do you mean? I can't run away knowing that her life is in danger!"

The woman tripped on her shoes and collapsed on the grass. That gave the villain the chance to creep up on her. The woman backed away slowly with fear written in her eyes.

"I got you now!" He exclaimed with a sharp grin.

"S-stop!" Midoriya cried. Before I could stop him, he goes sprinting in their direction.

"Midoriya-kun!" I exclaimed. I had no choice but to go after him too.

"Get outta the way, squirt!" The villain hissed.

He moved his long arm to smack Midoriya, but he smoothly dodged the attack, to my surprise. Midoriya rolled on the ground so he was behind the villain. He began to charge at him from behind.

What is he doing? He can't go up against that guy!

"Stop!" Midoriya yelled, tugging at the villain's latex jacket.

"Bug off!" The villain said. He elbowed him in the nose. Midoriya fell back. I ran over to his side.

"M-Midoriya-kun... You shouldn't..." I began.

"I-I have to help her!" He exclaimed.

He ignored me and stood back up. There was a bruise forming near his nose. He attempted to nudge the Crimson grunt away from the woman. I just stood there motionless as the dread overwhelmed me.

I need to stop him. The only reason why he survived the sludge incident was because of All Might. If All Might didn't come...

"I've had enough of you!" the villain screeched. Focusing his attention on the green-haired boy, he lunged toward him. He grabbed him by his throat. Lifting him up the ground effortlessly, I watched as Midoriya squirmed in his grasp. Even so, he wasn't concerned about himself.

"O-O...Oni...shi-san... R-run...with...her..."

I jogged over to the lady on the grass. I shakily helped her off the ground.

"P-please! Stop this! Take me instead!" the woman cried. Her gray eyes full of alarm, she begged me to help Midoriya.

What can I do, though? I'm powerless. Even if I were to help, it wouldn't matter. I would probably just make things worse. I can't save him.

**I can't save anyone.**

I couldn't move an inch. I watched as my kind classmate who lent me his history notes began to turn blue. He was losing air. His eyes were beginning to flutter.

"I've had enough of you!" The villain hissed. Out of nowhere, he pulls out a sharp blade. He thrusts it toward Midoriya's chest.

**Thump... Thump... Thump...**

My feet moved on its own.

**Thump. Thump. Thump.**

I watched as the blade got closer and closer to his chest.

**Thump, thump, thump. **

As the blade ripped into Midoriya's shirt, the sounds of cloth ripping echoed in my eardrums. Although there were people screaming and yelling, the only thing I heard was that. Hearing the sound sent chills down my back. It made me want to throw up.

What was the point? I can't do anything. I'm not a hero.

Nevertheless, I stretched my fingers out in a pathetic attempt to help in some way. I curled them into a fist.

"Stop in the name of justice!" a booming voice cried.

Hearing that, the villain's blade swiped to the left just grazing Midoriya's shirt slightly. Before he could react, a flurry of seeds goes flying into his face. He crashes down. That effectively dropped Midoriya on the grass. Midoriya coughed and panted heavily.

"Straw...berry Shades?" I shakily spoke.

Towering over the Crimson grunt was Strawberry Shades. His striped yukata was a mess; there were blotches of dirt and smoke on it. His sleeves were torn exposing his defined arms. His face was stained with sweat. I noticed that there was a slight bruise forming near his lip. His hair was a complete mangled mess. It was practically sticking up.

His bright green eyes gazed over to me. Although he looked like hell, he still gave me that dazzling grin.

"I came just in time!" he said.

I gave him a nervous smile.

"Y-yeah."

I scurried over to Midoriya who was still gasping for air. His face was reverting back to its original color so that's a good sign.

"Who the hell are you?!" The villain exclaimed, jumping up from the ground. His green face was beginning to swell.

"I am the civilian: Barry!" Strawberry Shades said loudly. Holding his palm out, he said, "Get prepared to be planted!"

A seed the size of a football shoots out. The villain was able to swiftly dodge it like a snake. He slithered toward Strawberry Shades. Since his knife had fallen and was too far to retrieve, he reached into his red jacket and pulled out a syringe with an equally sharp point. There was an orange fluid inside.

"An interesting quirk!" he exclaimed. His legs disappearing and turning into a snake's body, he speedily slithered around Strawberry Shades. He was having a bit of trouble keeping up.

"Stay still! It's nap time!" the villain cried.

He went in to stab him with his needle. However, Strawberry Shades acted quickly. A skill that I've never seen him used before, he lifted up his arm and a seed emerged. It didn't pop off as they usually did but it stayed glued to his arm.

The needle bounced off his seed shield. With his other hand, a giant seed smashes into the snake's face. The syringe slips from his hands. As the Crimson grunt falls onto the grass, Strawberry Shades immediately attacks him in a fury by spitting seeds at his face. The villain yelped helplessly as seeds hit his face. After a few seconds, I saw the lights in his eyes get knocked out. He laid there unconscious.

"D-did he get him?" Midoriya asked with a strained voice, as I helped him stand.

Strawberry Shades gave him a thumbs up.

"The villain is defeated!"

The white-haired woman who was behind him burst into tears. She began sobbing uncontrollably as a look of panic crossed his face. He went over and tried his best to comfort her.

"O-oh, dear. Th-there's no need for tears!"

"I'm sorry but... I thought it was over for that boy," she confessed through her sniffles. "I'm just so glad that someone came to the rescue."

He let out a proud laugh. He gave her a hard pat on the back that made her grimace.

"Of course!" he exclaimed boldly. "There's no need to fear when Strawberry-, _Barry, _is here! What is your name, dear civilian?"

Taking off her glasses, she wiped her eyes.

"Todoroki. Todoroki Fuyumi."

Did she say Todoroki?

As I inspected the young woman, I realized that facial features did look familiar. Her straight eyes, and her thin nose... She looks like Todoroki. She must be his sister. If she's here, does that mean he's here too?

"Well, Todoroki-san!" Strawberry Shades said, slapping her back again. "I am glad to be of service!"

He continued to laugh cockily to himself, as Fuyumi stood there awkwardly.

"H-he's...a bit strange, isn't he?" Midoriya murmured.

"He's always like this," I replied. "...You'll get used to it."

"Could he be one of your friends you were talking about?"

I let out a sigh.

"Unfortunately... Yeah."

Strawberry Shades urged us to stick with him. He was going to escort us to the entrance. As we ran through the merchandise stalls, I mumbled a "thanks for saving me for the 58th time" to the hero. That only boosted his ego, and he slapped me on the back too. It kind of hurt. Midoriya and Fuyumi also thanked him. That increased his ego even further. He let out a loud laugh.

"But of course! What do you expect?" he boasted. "It's in my nature to help those in trouble!"

I heard my phone ring. Pulling it out of my yukata sash, I saw that Hiro was calling me.

"Hello?" I said.

"Onishi-san... Did you hear?" Furutani's monotone voice said. I could hardly hear her with all the noise happening on the other line.

"Uh, you mean about the force field thing?"

"Who is that?" Midoriya asked.

"One of my friends," I replied. Hearing that, Strawberry Shades told me to put my phone on speaker.

"Yes... You should leave before it's finished... Just in case we don't catch...the villain in time...who's creating...the force field..." Furutani replied. I heard an explosion in the background. People were yelling orders.

"Furutani! It is me!" Strawberry Shades piped.

"Oh... Good... You found... Onishi-san... Take her away...to safety..."

"Oi! Furutani! Help us out, would ya?" I heard Static exclaim. I also heard the distant cackling of Mitsumu.

Furutani let out a sad sigh.

"Alright... I have to go..." she informed. Before she hung up, I asked her if she's seen Hiro at all.

"No... I have not..." she replied.

She ended the call. I stuffed my phone back into my pink sash.

Right now is not the time for him to disappear. Where could he be?

Strawberry Shades sensed my worry. Giving me another hard pat on the back, he reassured me that we will find him.

"Hm... Maybe..." I dully said.

I peered up at the dark sky. I could see the yellow force field. It was almost halfway to being complete.

We really need to get out of here before it-

Without warning, I felt my bare feet hit a string of cloth. I tripped forward and face planted. Midoriya and Fuyumi fell too, but Strawberry Shades didn't. He stumbled forward. A light wire extended out from one of the stalls near us and wrapped around Strawberry Shade's wrists, bounding them together.

"Stop, or else I'm ripping your hands off!" A rough voice barked.

I saw Masterbaiter, who was standing behind one of the stalls. His blue shirt he was wearing at the goldfish pool was nowhere to be seen. He had on his white tank top that was covered in sweat. In his hands was a long thin wire.

"Masterbaiter!" Strawberry Shades exclaimed with glee.

"Oh. It's just Strawshitty Shades, and the little squirt," he remarked. He loosened up his stance. The string that was wrapped around his comrade's wrist untangled on its own. It zipped back to Masterbaiter's fingertips where it shortened to the length of a shoelace.

—- —-

Ｍａｓｔｅｒｂａｉｔｅｒ

Ｑｕｉｒｋ： Ｒｏｄ

Ｈｅ ｃａｎ ｃｏｎｔｒｏｌ ｔｈｅ ｌｅｎｇｔｈ ｏｆ ａｎｙｔｈｉｎｇ ｔｈａｔ＇ｓ ａ ｗｉｒｅ

ａｓ ｌｏｎｇ ａｓ ｈｅ＇ｓ ｔｏｕｃｈｉｎｇ ｉｔ．

—- —-

"Did you really have to set out a tripwire?" I asked, getting up from the ground.

"I gotta watch out for those damn Crimson villains," Masterbaiter defended.

"Crimson villains? What do you mean by that?" Fuyumi asked.

Masterbaiter let out a sigh.

"That's what I thought. The public knows nothing about them. I don't get why the media doesn't say anything about it! I'm telling you, you can't trust the government! They're hiding things from us! I bet they're hiding the true origins of where quirks came from. Like, come on! There's no way superhuman powers would appear so suddenly! Hasn't anyone taken Biology? Evolution takes time!"

Masterbaiter began to go on a tangent about government conspiracies. The rest of us stood there awkwardly.

"Onishi-san... Is he one of your friends too?" Midoriya whispered to me.

"...Something like that."

Seeing that he wasn't going to explain who the Crimson Eclipse was anytime soon, I took the liberty to do so.

"Oh my gosh... That's horrible..." Fuyumi gasped. "So, those people want to get rid of people with weak quirks?"

"Exactly!" a female voice exclaimed.

Turning around, I saw a group of Crimson grunts. There were five of them. Standing in the middle was a tall woman. Her outfit was nearly the same as the others except that she had a band with a crescent moon on her arm.

Sensing their presence, the two heroes immediately went on guard. Pushing the rest of us behind them, they stood in front.

The woman's thin eyes peered over to me. Disgust filled her eyes. Even so, she gave me a smile.

"What a coincidence. It's you," she remarked. "I do say, you match the color purple. Who did your hair? Your mom?"

Seeing my lack of reaction, her smile faltered from her face.

"Don't give me that confused look. It's me, Akira. The one who gave you your uniform. The one you lied to."

I darted my eyes away. Nervously, Midoriya asked me if I knew her.

"It doesn't matter if she knows her or not," Masterbaiter gruffed. The wire in his hands grew longer. "This lady is just some butthurt villain who can't get over that a middle-schooler told her a little lie!"

Akira's face contorted into a rage. Then she spoke.

"Get them."

All the villains rushed in at once. Immediately, Masterbaiter told us to run. He and Strawberry Shades charged toward the villains. Meanwhile, Midoriya, Fuyumi, and I sprinted away.

"What are you doing?! Get them too!" I heard Akira scream.

I heard the footsteps of a villain rush over to us. Hearing that, Fuyumi sped up. Since she sped up, Midoriya panicked and went faster. I tried going faster too, but my feet beginning to grow even sorer than before. My yukata was restricting my movement so I couldn't run as fast. I was trailing behind them.

"I gotcha!" I heard a villain behind me sneer. Glancing behind, I saw a villain with the face of a lion lunge toward me.

Crap, crap, crap!

Thinking fast, I ducked to the side. The villain lunged toward the ground and tumbled down.

"Onishi-san!" Midoriya exclaimed. He scrambled over to me and grabbed my arms. He pulled me up. As he did, I felt the villain's bushy hands wrap around my ankles.

"Where do you think you're going, girlie?!" he roared. His sharp nails dug into my bare skin.

"Ah! Onishi-san!" Midoriya shrieked. He tried to pull me away, but that only made the nails in my skin dig deeper.

I kicked the villain in the face with my other foot. Doing so made him claw my ankle, and I winced. Hitting him right in the eye, he let out a grunt. His grip loosened, and I untangled from his grasp.

"Go away, you freak!" Fuyumi yelled.

With the large wooden spoon that she grabbed from the fried noodle stall nearby, she smashed it into his face. She continued doing so as the villain yelped in pain. After her 10th hit, the spoon clattered onto the ground. The villain laid there with several bruises on his face. His nose was bleeding. There was foam at the corner of his lips. He was knocked out, cold.

I slowly turned to Fuyumi. She was sweating so much that her glasses were beginning to slip off her nose.

"Uh... Thanks."

She tiredly pushed her lenses up.

"O-of course. L-let's get out of here. The entrance should be close by."

We continued running down the stalls. Surprisingly, we were the only ones in the area. It must've been because everyone evacuated already.

Gazing up at the sky, I saw that the yellow force field was nearly complete.

Furutani said that she and the others were trying to find the one creating the shield. They really should hurry, because the situation here is getting even worse. Also, where are the reinforcements? The heroes need to get here!

I wasn't watching where I was going, because I crashed into Midoriya's back when I turned the corner.

"Why'd you stop-" I began, when he placed his hands on my mouth. He held his finger to his lips. Fuyumi pointed in front of us.

We were nearly at the entrance. However, it was a complete mess. Stalls were tumbled over, blocking the way out. They were piled up on each other. Some of them looked like they were burnt because the wood was colored black.

Walking amidst the flames was a Crimson grunt. She had dark brown hair. She wore the standard Crimson uniform. However, her sleeves were torn probably due to battle. She talking with someone with her earpiece but we couldn't hear what she was saying.

"We...We're going to have to sneak by going through the stalls," Fuyumi whispered. She pointed at the stalls that were on the right side.

Midoriya gulped nervously. Peering over at my bleeding ankle, he asked me if I was going to be okay. I told him that I was fine; it was just a scratch. However, he seemed a lot more worried about it than me.

"I-If the villain catches us... I'll distract her," he said solemnly.

"You can't!" Fuyumi disagreed. "I'll do it!"

Midoriya shook his head. He pointed out that her arm was injured. He was the only healthy one out of all of us who would manage to distract the villain if she were to see us. Hearing that, Fuyumi grimaced in frustration.

"I...I think it's unlikely that she'll spot us," I quietly said, trying to lift the heavy mood. "We'll be fine."

"We have to climb that blockade, though," Fuyumi reminded. "There's no way we're going to climb it in time. She'll notice us, for sure."

I bit my lip. I knew that we couldn't do anything; Midoriya was going to have to be the distraction.

Midoriya went first. Tiptoeing to the nearest stall, he successfully made it. Next was Fuyumi. Walking cautiously, she kept darting her eyes at the villain who was talking through her earpiece. She was so nervous that I could tell that she was shaking. She slipped behind the abandoned fried chicken stall. Midoriya beckoned me to come over.

I took a deep breath. My bare toes gently touched the dirty that was stained with soot. I felt blood trickle down my ankle. I sneaked over without anything happening. Kneeling down behind the stall, Midoriya and Fuyumi let out a quiet sigh of relief.

One stall down. Six more to go.

We were able to make it with relative ease. On the way to the sixth stall, I had to stop Fuyumi from crossing. We all held our breaths as the Crimson villain walked by out stalls. I overheard her conversation.

"Do I really have to guard the place? There's no one here. The shield is almost done too."

Fuyumi's shaking hands were covering her mouth. Midoriya, who was hiding in the stall across from us, had wide eyes. His lips were upturned.

"I mean, I don't see those three people anyway. I bet they got lost or something."

Her heels clacked on the road. They walked past our stall. Hearing that she was away, Midoriya motioned Fuyumi to cross. As Fuyumi crossed, I suddenly heard the villain make her way back to us. It was too late for Fuyumi to run back. She sensed it too because she scrambled ahead. In the process, her foot kicked some stray wood pieces on the ground. She skidded on under the stall with Midoriya.

"Hold on, I think something fell," I heard the villain say. Her footsteps sauntered over to the stall Midoriya and Fuyumi were hiding at. Their faces dripped with sweat as she got closer and closer.

At this rate, they're going to get caught.

Glancing down at the spatula that lay beside me, I picked it up and flung it in the opposite direction. It clattered loudly on the ground.

The Crimson grunt spun around. Slowly and surely, she made her way over to the noise. I scurried over to the others. We didn't say anything to each other. We just stared. We all silently agreed that it was a close one.

Midoriya whispered to Fuyumi. He told her to go first. She was going to need more time to climb the blockade since her arm was injured. I was to go after her and Midoriya was last, as planned. Even though we all agreed on it before, I couldn't help but feel guilty.

During this whole time, Midoriya's been the one running out and helping. I haven't done anything. He should be the one going after Fuyumi, not me.

**I wish I could do something helpful for once.**

I felt a hand fall on my shoulder. Turning behind, Midoriya gave me a reassuring a nod. Just seeing how dead-set he was with being the decoy made me feel even worse. I looked away from him in shame. He must've mistaken my guilt as fear because he said to me,

"It's okay, Onishi-san. You'll get out of here."

How about you? Aren't you going to get out too?

Because of my little distraction earlier, the villain was a good distance away from us. That gave us more time to climb the wreckage. Fuyumi went first. Her trembling fingers grabbed onto the broken wood. She lifted her legs up and pushed her body up. We watched as she climbed higher and higher. She was nearly at the top now. Her face lit up in relief. That must mean that the entrance must be ahead.

Fuyumi gazes over to me signaling that it was my turn. As I stood up, I heard the villain speak from afar.

"Hold up, I think I see something," she said. "...There's a trail of blood."

It must've been from my ankle wound.

Her footsteps began to approach us.

She's coming over.

Midoriya, who had crept up to my side, gave me a solemn look. His eyes screamed "fear". However, I knew that he wasn't going to give into it. He was preparing to distract her.

We're going to be found out. And it's all my fault.

Her steps were nearly where we were. As Midoriya prepared to leave, I spoke.

"Mi...Midoriya... I'm sorry."

Jumping up from my hiding spot, the villain immediately noticed me. She went into a battle position. Her arms suddenly became long and stretchy.

"I knew it!" she exclaimed with fire in her eyes.

"Go!" I cried to Midoriya.

"Onishi-san, I can't-"

Pulling Midoriya up from the ground, I shoved him toward the blockade.

The look Midoriya gave me sent chills down my arms. His round eyes were full of horror, shame, fear, and uncertainty. His lip quivered slightly. He was trembling.

This reminds me of that villain attack again. He's wearing the exact same look Dad had when I fell off.

My mouth formed into a thin line. I could hardly swallow the huge lump in my throat.

"Just...go. Please."

He sprinted toward the blockade. Fuyumi, who was at the top, outstretched her arm out to him.

"That's not gonna do anything, idiot! I'm catching him next right after I'm done with you!" the Crimson grunt bellowed.

Picking up a broken wood plank, I charged at her. I attempted to hit her with it, but her long fingers caught onto it. I kicked her in the knee as hard as I could.

"Damn kid!" she screamed.

She threw me onto the ground. I felt the wind get knocked out of me. She began going after Midoriya.

I can't let him get caught. He can't.

I grimaced in pain as I got up from the floor. I shakily ran over to the villain who was at the blockade. She was trying to grab onto Midoriya's legs as he scrambled up.

"Don't!" I exclaimed.

I pathetically pulled on her latex jacket. Before she could shove me off, I grabbed the white flower hairpin that was in my hair. Pulling it out, I jabbed it into her shoulder.

"Shit!" she winced. Using her other hand, her arm extended and her fingers wrapped around my arm. It pulled me down on the ground. Her hand pushed my chin down. She grabbed onto Midoriya's ankle.

"Get down here!" she barked.

Midoriya let out a shriek. Meanwhile, Fuyumi was trying her best to pull Midoriya up. I watched as the two of them struggled to loosen the villain's grasp.

What was I thinking? I can't do anything. I'm not a hero.

**I'm worthless. I couldn't even distract her.**

"I-I'm slipping!" Fuyumi exclaimed, red-faced. Her grip on his hands was beginning to grow weaker.

Midoriya's eyes darted at me. Given the circumstances and just by seeing that look on his face, I knew what he was going to do.

No. He can't let go. I didn't do this for nothing.

I suddenly felt a prickly sensation in my bleeding ankle. It started shaking uncontrollably.

I saw frost coming from Fuyumi's fingertips. Since Midoriya was directly holding hands with her, frost formed on his body. However, it began to form on the villain's hands too. Right as it did so, Fuyumi let out a cry and heaved Midoriya up. That made the villain lose her grip on them.

"Damn ice!" she cursed in rage. "It's not over yet!"

She extended her arm out, and her palms zipped right toward Midoriya again. His eyes grew wide in fear.

In a flash, the tingling began to travel up the right side of my body. When it reached my hand, it was as if I had no control over them.

I acted on instinct. Pulling my arm that was trapped underneath my body, I stretched my fingers out to him.

**It's okay, Midoriya-kun. You'll get out of here.**

My hand curled into a fist. When they did, the villain's hand that was heading straight toward Midoriya suddenly jerked to the left. It completely missed him. Her hand jerked so hard that she lost her footing and stumbled down. That gave time for Midoriya to reach the top of the wreckage. Before disappearing, he gave me a tearful look.

"Onishi-san!" he screamed hoarsely. "I'll come back for you! I promise!"

A tear slipped down his cheek as he jumped over the wreckage with Fuyumi and disappeared.


	15. Panic! At the Festival - The Conclusion

I aimlessly stared at the scene around me as my bare feet staggered forward. The scent of smoke lingered in the air. Looking around, the street was completely empty. It was just the two of us. It gave off a chilling feeling seeing how desolate it was; just twenty minutes ago the entire place was bustling with people. The stalls that were full of food, toys, merchandise, and games were abandoned. Some stalls weren't even intact; they've been ripped apart by villains and burnt down. I saw a broken All Might toy lying at the side of the road. His muscular arm was broken off from his body. His manly face gave me a beaming smile.

_ "It's fine now. Why? Because I am here!"_

"Walk faster!" the Crimson grunt behind me hissed. Pushing me, I stumbled to the ground.

Her hands grabbed onto the back of my yukata. She yanked me onto my feet.

"What are you doing? I didn't tell you to fall."

I didn't say anything back. I hung my head low staring at my dirty toes.

"Damn kid... You cause me all this trouble right when my inspection was about to end..." she muttered bitterly. "And how the hell did you do that?"

What is she talking about?

"Hello? I'm talking to you!"

Gazing up, I told her that I didn't get what she meant.

"What do you mean? I'm talking about when my fists went the other way," she explained gruffly. "I know you did something!"

I...did?

I gazed down at my hands. That tingling sensation I felt earlier replayed in my mind.

That wasn't the first time my fingers felt like that. It was like that when I crashed the taxi; when the blonde kid used his electric quirk at the beach, and the time the light was about to fall onto Dad when we got captured by Sonnet. It also felt like this when Bakugo nearly blasted me.

Does this mean...? No, don't get ahead of yourself. This is all just a coincidence... Right?

My phone that was miraculously still tucked into my sash blasted.

"Turn that thing off!" the villain barked.

I dug my fingers into my pink sash and pulled out my phone. There was an unknown number calling me.

"Give me that!"

The villain swiped my phones out of my hands. But in the process, she accidentally answered the call. Because I left my phone on speaker from the last time Furutani called, a booming voice blasted out.

"Hello? Hello?"

"Ah shit, I didn't mean to answer that," the villain said. She was about to hang up when the voice on the other line spoke.

"Don't hang up! I still wanna talk!" he said. "Besides, you have my friend with you! I would very much appreciate it if you let her go."

"Are you crazy? Screw off."

"Well then, you leave me no-"

She hung up on him.

"Idiot," she laughed. "Did he really think that I was gonna listen?"

I focused my attention on the tall figure that had suddenly swooped in from above. Their heavy boots stomped onto the ground. They wore a long, dark red trenchcoat with a black hood. Strapped around their back was a staff. A white mask with a waning crescent moon covered their face. My capturer immediately tensed up upon seeing the mysterious figure make their entrance.

I've seen this person before... He was the one Ingenium battled back at the hideout.

**The Crescent Reaper.**

A wave of uneasiness washed over me as the mysterious figure approached us. They stopped. Then, a low male voice spoke.

"What are you doing here? You were supposed to be stationed at the entrance."

My capturer stood up straight and saluted him.

"I-I know, Admin! But then some civilians came and-"

His leather gloves swiped across her face. It looked like it hurt because it left a red imprint on her cheek. She trembled as the man leaned down to her.

"You were supposed to be stationed at the entrance. You dare disobey my order?" he growled. "If you cannot deal with Leftovers, then you are not worthy of calling yourself a member of the Crimson Eclipse."

She gulped. I did too.

He leaned back up. Grabbing my arm, he pulled me over to his side.

"Go back to your station. You will receive your punishment later."

She shakily saluted him.

"Y-yes, Admin!"

The villain reached into his coat and pulled out a syringe with an orange fluid. Without warning, he stuck it into my arm. Immediately, I began to feel light-headed. The world around me began to spin as everything got darker. The last thing I saw before knocking out was the blurry vision of a thin wire wrap around the grunt's waist and a tall dark man kicking her down.

»»—- —-««

I woke up when my body slammed onto the ground. I let out a groggy grunt as I tried to push myself up. When I tried to, my arms just felt like noodles and I collapsed back down. I was so worn out; it felt like I just finished doing 100 push-ups.

The setting was very chaotic. I heard multiple people shouting along with the sounds of an ongoing battle. As my eyes adjusted, I saw that the stalls that were surrounding me were all destroyed. Wood, pots, pans, and other kitchenware were scattered all over the ground. In the distance, I saw two figures battling the villain who injected me. It looked like they were having a bit of trouble.

Is that...Strawberry Shades? And Masterbaiter?

I shakily stood up. Although I was a bit drowsy, I was still able to walk. I began to stumble over in their direction.

Masterbaiter was kneeling in front of the Crescent Reaper. He was getting a beatdown. Meanwhile, Strawberry Shades was sprawled out on the ground. They were both covered in bruises and scratches. However, they were still getting back up and fighting.

"I'm not done yet!" Masterbaiter said with a weary grin. The string that was in his finger zipped towards the villain. However, with a quick slash of his blade, he cut the wire and kicked him back down. The villain continued to throw punches at him as Strawberry Shades slowly crawled over.

People are suffering because of me. It's all my fault again.

I began to break out into a desperate run. I tripped, but I stood back up nevertheless. Even though my knees were ready to buckle, my feet were sore, and my ankle gash on fire, I ran.

There's plenty of other people they could save. Why didn't they just let me be?

The villain reached for his staff that had disconnected into a scythe. He raised it up in the air.

Why am I always helpless? Can't I do something for once?

I held a hand out as his blade began to swipe down towards Masterbaiter's neck.

**Someone, please help.**

Without warning, the Reaper's arm zips up. The blade misses Masterbaiter's neck by a centimeter. That gave time for Strawberry Shades to charge up his seed. With a blast, it goes flying into the Reaper's torso. It stumbles him back making him drop his weapon. Before he could grab it, Masterbaiter's wire swiped it away. It slid across the ground and away from his grasp.

"You're late, Corvade," Masterbaiter muttered snidely.

Jumping onto his feet, a wide grin spread across Strawberry Shade's worked face.

"Boss! You're here!"

Turning around, I saw an older woman wearing all black standing behind me. She wore a black cloak. A mask covered her nose and mouth. Her curly hair that reached a bit past her ears fluttered in the wind.

Boss? Wasn't she present during the Crimson Eclipse raid?

"What the hell did you two get yourself in?" she gruffly remarked. "Look at you two. You're so filthy. Any more fighting and the two of you might as well dig your own graves. Get over here and take this kid away."

Her violet eyes gazed over to me. It looked cold and aloof but at the same time, it was familiar.

"And you. Don't even think about getting involved in this."

Reaching into her cloak, she pulled out a small device that looked like a pen. In an instant, it snapped and extended into a baton. She charged at him. The Crescent Reaper's gloves turned into gauntlets. Dark spikes emerged from his knuckles. He charged. Meanwhile, Masterbaiter and Strawberry Shades scampered over to me. Right as the two clashed, they reached me.

"You...guys, I-"

Strawberry Shades gave me a bear hug. My face slammed against his yukata that was stained with sweat and dirt. He smelled weird. His arms were exposed from his ripped sleeves wrapped around my body. He lifted me off the ground nearly squeezing me to death.

"R-Rin-chan! You're okay!" he said with wobbly words.

"Can't...breathe..."

"Look at you! You're a complete mess! What happened to your hair?"

"...Let...go...I..."

Strawberry Shades seemed to get my hint, and he dropped me on the ground. His green eyes were watery with tears. Meanwhile, Masterbaiter shakily gave me a forehead flick. It didn't hurt one bit.

"Quit running into trouble all the time! I'm getting tired of saving you!" he scolded. "Don't you know how hard it is?!"

"Uh... I don't want to get into trouble but-"

"Heh! Masterbaiter is just worried about you!" Strawberry Shades said with a grin.

The villain came flying in our direction. In a flash, the two heroes grabbed me by my arms and pulled me out of the way. The villain came tumbling onto the ground. He got up and charged back at Corvade.

"Enough talk. Let's scram," Masterbaiter suggested. "Please tell me you can run because I ain't carrying you."

I shook my head. I told him that I should be fine.

As we fleed, I peeked behind me at the fight. Despite all the trouble the Crescent Reaper put Strawberry Shades and Masterbaiter through, Corvade looked like she was faring well against him. The way she fought was memorizing. With every punch the villain attempted to do, she would always dodge it.

Strawberry Shades noticed me looking. He let out a chuckle.

"The boss is pretty strong, right?" he proudly said. "She's been doing hero business for a long time. Her hand-to-hand combat is incredible. Not to mention, her quirk is amazing too!"

"Her quirk?" I said.

"Hehe! I bet you're curious now, huh?"

"Watch out!" Masterbaiter suddenly yelled. I heard a loud groan come from the side. I saw that the metal flagpole that was beside us was falling over. On instinct, Mastbaiter pushed us back just as it came crashing down. It fell onto the ground and broke the nearby stalls with a deafening crash.

"Oh. That was a close one!" Strawberry Shades chirped.

Without warning, a steel ball the size of a tennis fall goes flying toward my face. Pushing me out of the way, Masterbaiter gets smacked. He flies back and hits the ground. Meanwhile, another one comes flying at Strawberry Shades and nearly hits him too. He was able to deflect it by forming a seed on his forearm. The ball bounced off.

"Oho? You're a handsome one," a red-haired woman said, walking on the flagpole. She had triangular glasses and a shiny, red leather jumpsuit with an array of zippers. Around her thin waist was a utility belt with pockets.

Holding her hands out, the steel balls zipped back into her palms.

"Were you the one who sent the flagpole down?" Strawberry Shades demanded as I tried to wake Masterbaiter up.

"Of course I was. What do you expect?" she replied. "I'm impressed that you managed to dodge my attack. You have an interesting quirk too. Say, how about you join the Crimson Eclipse?"

He defiantly said no. Seeing that, the lady let out a delighted giggle.

"Fufu! I see! Then, let's make a deal, shall we?"

Popping up from the ground, two Crimson grunts appeared. One grabbed me into a chokehold. The other grabbed Masterbaiter's unconscious body.

"If you come with me, then I'll let your friends go," She said.

Strawberry Shades raised an eyebrow.

"Liar! That is the oldest trick in the book."

The woman let out another hearty laugh.

"Oh my! What a stubborn attitude! You're my type!" she remarked. "Don't worry, I promise that I'll let them go. I don't want to disappoint a potential date, do I?"

I stared at Strawberry Shades who was thinking over his choice. His face was stained with sweat. His eyebrows were dipped down and there was a frown on his lips.

I looked up at the woman.

She's probably lying and he knows that. This is such a cliche. But even so, there was a tiny chance that she was telling the truth. He's in no condition to fight, let alone against three people.

I bit my lip in frustration.

I'm being useless again. There has to be a way that I can help.

I noticed that inside the villain's jacket was another syringe. It was definitely close enough to grab it. By the woman was a wooden post that held a paper lantern. I noticed that the wood was burnt and brittle; it wouldn't take much of a blast to break it down. Strawberry Shades seemed to notice too because he kept eyeing it. His eyes fell onto me. It seemed like he had the same idea in mind too because I can see a small seed begin to charge in his palms.

"Well? What's your answer?" the woman asked.

He gazed up at her. He agreed to her deal. The woman ordered the other men to let us go. I jumped onto my feet before he could grab me again. Meanwhile, a giant seed bursts from Strawberry Shades's hands and flies right into the post.

The sound of wood breaking was heard, and the post began to fall toward the woman. Letting out a frustrated grunt, she jumped forward to dodge it. As she did, that gave Strawberry Shades the chance to spit a flurry of seeds at her face.

"What a shame!" she angrily said, composing herself. She dodged the next seed attack. "I was already planning what to wear for our date. I guess I'll have to kill you along with your little friends."

The Crimson grunt by Masterbaiter pulled out a knife from his boots. He aimed at his chest. Before he could hit him, a seed zips at his hands and knocks the blade out of his hands. But because the hero did that, a steel ball goes flying into Strawberry Shade's face. He was nearly knocked down from the impact. It looked like it hurt.

However, I didn't have time to stand there and watch the battle. There was a villain dead set on attacking me. I began to run around in circles as he attempted to grab me.

"You ain't goin' nowhere!" he exclaimed.

Whipping his hand out, a line of pink gum stuck on my left yukata sleeve. I tried to pull it off but it didn't work. It was too sticky. Another one came and got on the same side near my thigh. Pulling his arm back, my bare feet began to slide across the cement. Pebbles and debris scrapped my foot as my body slowly slid over to him.

Think, Rin! Do something!

I shuddered to myself as I gazed down at the pink gum that was on my sleeve. Mentally preparing myself, I lifted my arm up and bit into the pink string. The taste of warm sugar filled my mouth as my teeth bit through the gum. Within a few seconds, the string of gum broke and I was able to break my arm free. The sugary candy was hard as I chewed it.

"Like that's gonna help! I'll just get your other leg!" the villain said.

Before I could react, another line of gum shoots at my right side. My body tipped backward. My back slammed onto the ground knocking the air out of me. I began to get dragged over to him.

"Rin-chan!" Strawberry Shades cried. He held his hand out to launch a seed when a steel ball hits him. He blocked it with his other arm that had a seed protruding out of it. He began to get hit with a flurry of attacks as his opponent began to go all out.

"My eyes are up here!" she taunted. "Focus on me!"

Reaching the bubblegum villain, he gave me an evil grin as he reached into his jacket and pulled out an orange syringe.

Another one?! Does every Crimson Eclipse villain have one?

"Now, now! How about we take a little nap?" he suggested.

I spit the gum at his eyes blinding him for a split second. Since he was standing over me, I swiped my feet against his ankle as hard as I could. That managed to throw his balance off. He leaned toward his left effectively making his hand with the syringe lower. I snatched it from his hands and stabbed it into his left thigh. I watched as the orange fluid disappeared and flowed into his body.

"You!" he grunted. His eyes began to flutter as he stumbled onto the ground. The gum that was stuck on my yukata zipped back into his fingers. I curled my legs out from under him and scooted away.

"Get back...here..."

He face planted onto the ground.

Peering over to Strawberry Shades, he was still battling against the woman. If he were in top shape I think he would be able to handle her but because he was worn out from the previous battle, he was struggling. Not to mention, her quirk usage was quick. Her metal orbs were flying around speedily.

I gazed over to Masterbaiter's unconscious body that was getting dragged away from the other guy.

I have to help him!

Standing onto my feet, I scampered over to him. Before the villain could react, I tackled him onto the ground.

"What the hell?!" he exclaimed in shock. He pushed me off of him, but I grabbed him again.

"Let go, kid!"

He pulled out another syringe. He attempted to stab me but I let go of his neck in time. My butt hit the ground as he swiped the air behind him.

"I'm gonna get you!" he challenged. A hole formed beneath him and he disappeared. I heard rumbling below me as I frantically scanned the area.

Crap. Where'd he go?

The rumbling below me intensified. Without thinking, I stepped back just as the villain bursts from below. He jumped in the air.

"Surprise!" he exclaimed in glee.

I rolled over to the side. I thought he was going to hit the ground but another hole opened up and he went back underground again.

I think I just got lucky that time. But what now?

Before I knew it, the ground in front of me shook violently and he appeared again. This time he was able to knock me down. I slammed down on the ground as his body weight pressed against my chest. It felt like my lungs were getting crushed.

"I got you now!"

The needle zipped down toward my neck. I curled my fingers into a ball. The familiar tingling sensation appeared again. I watched as the pointy tip that was heading toward me suddenly jerk the other way. I didn't have time to think about how that happened, and I kneed him in the crotch. Letting out a cry of pain, I shoved him off of me. Rolling over, I grabbed a soggy drumstick from the food stall behind and chucked it at him. I missed but because of that split second distraction, he didn't get to dodge the giant seed that goes flying into the back of his head. His eyes rolled back, and he hit the ground.

My eyes snapped onto Strawberry Shades who looked like a complete mess. He had a black eye and blood was dripping from his nose and mouth. He was gasping for air. Even so, he managed to crack me a small grin.

Behind him, I saw the woman stagger up. Her glasses were broken, and there was an outline of a seed on her cheek. Reaching into her belt pocket, another syringe appeared.

"Behind you!" I exclaimed.

He didn't have time to react. The villain sticks the needle into his shoulder. The orange fluid trickled out of the tube. Shakily, he reached up and pulled out the syringe. It was no use though; nearly all the fluid was gone. Strawberry Shades's eyes began to grow dark. He began to lose balance. Stumbling in my direction, he held his hand out to me. The villain kicked him down and he tumbled onto the ground. However, he still stretched his hand out.

"R...Rin... Ru...n."

His hand fell down as consciousness slipped away from his eyes.

My eyes were locked onto his unconscious body as I staggered forward. For some reason, I felt unbelievably tired. It felt like my body was going to fall apart. I could hardly keep myself upright. My entire body began to tremble with each step.

The villain sauntered over and stepped on Strawberry Shades's back like he was trash. Her high heels clicked on the road.

_Click, click, click._

They stopped in front of me.

"Well, well. It seems like both your heroes are gone, aren't they?" she sneered. "You look like a weakling but you did manage to somehow avoid getting put to sleep by my underlings."

Her cold and callous eyes gazed down at me.

"You still have a chance to survive, you know. How about you join the Crimson Eclipse? I'll let you go. If you don't..."

She leaned down next to my ear.

"I'll just have to modify you. We wouldn't want that, would we?"

I swallowed dryly. I broke away from her intense gaze and looked down.

My luck has run out. There's no escaping from this now.

I peeked over at Masterbaiter who was lying face up. His forehead was dripping with blood. Meanwhile, Strawberry Shade's previously active presence was gone. He wasn't getting up. Masterbaiter wasn't getting up. I was alone in this. I was powerless.

**I was quirkless.**

"Well?"

I can't think right now. My mind is overloaded with thousands of thoughts. All the words are jumbled up in one big mess. I can't even respond to her.

I squeezed my hands into a fist. My nails dug into my skin.

Because I was quirkless again, I caused more trouble. I should've just let them take me in the first place. I'm just a burden to everyone.

"I suppose that's a no," the villain concluded. She grabbed another syringe from her belt. Her warm fingers wrapped around my trembling wrists. The look she gave me was full of hatred and remorse; it was chilling.

"Goodbye. You will be living the rest of your life as a mindless beast."

**This is all my fault. **

She went to inject the sleeping fluid into me. The cold tip of the needlepoint pricked my bare skin.

I saw something fall behind her. It looked like a rock. As the rock began to fall, it suddenly disappeared in a flash.

A figure appeared.

Just as she pressed the top, I jerked my wrist away. It slit a cut on my arm but I didn't care. At the same time, a heavy kick goes flying at the side of her head. The impact was so powerful that she flew. Her body hit the stall on the left.

My eyes slowly gazed up at the tall figure standing in front. His ruffled hair was somehow even messier. The sweater he was wearing was torn apart. His face was stained with sweat, and his round glasses were nowhere to be seen. Familiar violet eyes stared at me.

"..Hi...ro..?"

His arms wrapped around my shoulders. We were both drenched with sweat, but I didn't care. I shakily held my hands up and embraced him. I leaned my cheek against his torso as I tried my best to composure myself.

"I couldn't find you... I tried not to get caught but-"

"Rin..." he gently said to me.

"I-I'm sorry. I just made things worse," I stuttered. I squeezed his sweater to concentrate on keeping my trembling fingers still.

His soothing eyes looked at me. He gave me a reassuring smile.

"It's fine now. I'm here. You don't have to worry anymore."

I broke away from his gaze to hide my quivering lips.

**That's right. Everything's alright now that he's here.**

Hiro untangled from my embrace and pushed me behind him. The villain wasn't defeated yet. She was slowly getting up from the ground. She coughed in pain and crudely wiped her mouth, smearing her red lipstick across her cheek. Her glasses were gone. Her eyes fired up in fury.

"You dare to taint my face with your filthy foot? I'll crush you to pieces!"

Holding both her hands toward the metal pole, a loud creak echoed in the air. I watched as the metal pole begin to bend. The top of it snapped in half. Then in a second, the broken metal zoomed toward us.

"Die!" she bellowed.

Suddenly, the makeshift pipe zipped out of our way. It crashed into the stalls behind us.

What...just happened?

Slowly turning around, I saw Corvade, the leader of Blackbird. Her intense eyes glared into the villain's soul. Her presence was dangerous but at the same time, it was comforting. I noticed that the Crescent Reaper was nowhere to be seen. It was just her.

Then does that mean... Did she defeat him? A villain that strong was defeated by her?

I stared at her in a trance.

She must be incredibly powerful. I guess Strawberry Shades wasn't exaggerating.

"Hmph! You again?!" the villain grunted. "I thought you disappeared with that gangster wannabe with the cards!"

"I did, but then some of my idiots got into trouble," Corvade sighed, approaching her.

"Oho? You must be talking about these scrubs," she replied. "Pathetic, really. I was able to take them down easily."

"Well then... Can you do the same to me?"

Hearing that, the villain grinned evilly. She held her hands out and the tiny orbs that were scattered on the floor rose up next to her. I also heard the metal pole screech again. Another scrap of the post hovered above her.

"I'm getting tired of seeing your face, old woman! Let me rip it off for you!"

They flew at her all at once. Hiro grabbed me and we pulled away to avoid getting hit. We hid behind a stall. Using her baton, Corvade deflected the balls. The metal pipe approached her. But with the snap of her fingers, it suddenly twisted the other way. It was like it bounced off. Then, it started heading straight toward the villain.

"Nice moves!" she exclaimed, jumping out of the way. "But you forgot about them!"

Corvade immediately turned to us. Looking up, I saw another metal pipe directly above us. It dropped.

"Rin!" Hiro cried.

On instinct, my fingers tightened up. The pipe zipped away and hit the ground.

I gazed over to Corvade who was staring at us.

She saved us. She's fast.

"I'm over here!" the villain cried charging toward her.

A steel orb from her fingertips zoomed at her. Corvade slapped it away easily. She started to get attacked in a fury. Steel orbs zoomed back and forth as she repeatedly deflected them.

I peered over to Masterbaiter's and Strawberry Shade's unconscious bodies.

I need to get them out of there.

I began to leave my hiding spot when Hiro grabbed onto my arm.

"Rin, what are you doing?"

I stared right into his eyes.

"Strawberry Shades and Masterbaiter are out there."

"But it's too dangerous-"

"I can't just leave them out there," I snapped. That caught Hiro off guard. I broke away from his gaze and nudge his arm off.

"After all they've done for me... I could at least return the favor."

"Rin, wait!" he exclaimed as I ran out.

Sprinting down the pathway, I did my best to dodge any incoming orbs. Since Masterbaiter was the closest, I reached him first. Grabbing him by the arms, I dragged his body across the dirt. However, he was just as heavy as he looked. I was having a hard time. Then, I saw Hiro's fingers wrap around his wrists. I looked behind me.

"...Let me help," he said with nervous eyes.

Hiro and I were able to get him to safety with no problems. Setting him against the wooden posts of a stall, we looked ahead to the curly-haired hero lying behind the villain.

Okay... How the heck are we going to get there?

"You look like you're getting a bit tired, old woman!" the villain taunted.

"Enough talk. Your voice is annoying," Corvade replied.

"Oho? Are you too weak to talk and fight at the same time?"

A steel orb goes flying into the villain's face. She wasn't able to dodge in time. It crushed her nose. The orb fell along with a trickle of blood. Her nose was bleeding. The villain gave Corvade a look of anger and hatred. Slowly raising her hand up, the entire flagpole began to rise. Seeing that, Corvade dashed to her before the villain could do anything. But using her other hand, a group of balls zips to her. It crashed into Corvade's side effectively halting her. That gave the villain just enough time to fully lift the pole up.

"See if you can dodge this!" she howled with her face stained with sweat and blood.

She launched the 20ft pole.

"Run!" Hiro exclaimed pulling me away.

"But Strawberry Shades is-"

We scampered away. As we did, I peeked behind me to look at Corvade who was just kneeling there. She was staring at the giant piece of metal.

What is she doing? Why isn't she dodging it?

Then I noticed something in the distance. There was a glowing ball of fire that illuminated the night sky. It was flying at top speed. As it grew closer, I saw the outline of a figure. It was hurling in her direction.

"Tch. Why's that old man here?" I heard Corvade mumble. She held her hands out toward the 20ft pole. "I don't need his help."

Just as she held her hands out, a blast of fire erupts from the sky.

"Get down!" Hiro cried.

We both jumped down just as the blast hit. Using my hands to cover my head, I felt the intensity of the fire on my back. Even so, I couldn't help but worry about Strawberry Shades; he was going to get hit. Peeking behind me, I saw a huge rush of fire. It was a flamethrower. As the pole flew into the fire, I saw it instantly melt. Since the fire was coming directly above, some of the flames branched out on the ground and hit Corvade. However, there was a small gap between her and the flames. It was like there was an invisible force field around her body. I tried to search for Strawberry Shade's body amidst the flames but it was too hot. I had to shut my eyes since the intense heat was making them hurt.

After a few seconds, the fire vanished. What came after was the sound of someone's body hitting the ground. Slowly, I went onto my elbows and turned around.

Standing in between Corvade and the villain was Number 2 hero. His red flames blew in the wind. There were a few remaining flames flickering from his fists. His defined back was turned against me. Even without seeing his face, I felt the pressure of appearance. However, I wasn't too concerned about him. I was trying to search for Strawberry Shades.

Looking behind the villain, I saw that he was still lying in the same spot. His yukata was a bit burned but he looked fine. Seeing that, relief washed over me.

I'm not sure how he didn't get burned; he was directly in front of the fire. Unless...

I glanced at Corvade.

She somehow protected him too.

"You damn heroes never know when to give up a chase!" the villain screeched, staggering up from the floor.

Before she had the chance to use her quirk, Endeavor zips to her with the blasts of his feet. His fists slammed into her stomach. Blood spurts from her mouth as she flies back. She goes tumbling onto the ground. Endeavor didn't even give her a chance to recover because he elbowed her face. He went to strike her again when his fists suddenly jerk to the right. It missed her face by a millimeter.

Turning around, Corvade was standing a few feet away from him. Her hand was outstretched toward him. Seeing the vigilante make her appearance, his eyes harden.

"Corvade," he said bitterly.

"That's enough, Endeavor. You damage her any further and she won't be able to speak," Corvade responded, sternly.

Endeavor stood up. He approached her with dark eyes. Stopping in front of her, he spoke.

"An Illegal like you has no business here. Leave."

Corvade scoffed.

"And let you take all the credit for not only beating the second-in-command and the Crescent Reaper? I did most of the work. If you would've just let me be, I would've finished her off too. I didn't tell you to come," she retorted. "I suppose you want to secure as many cases as you can to reach the top... Right?"

She shouldn't have said that because immediately doing so, the bitterness in his eyes grew stronger. He looked ready to pummel her into the ground. He probably would've if it weren't for the flood of heroes that were coming over.

Corvade turned around. Her cloak was completely tattered. A bit of her mask was ripped but not enough to expose her identity. She began to walk away in our direction.

"Until we meet again... Enji-senpai."

Enji...senpai?

As she walked by us, she didn't bother acknowledging us. It wasn't until she did when I spoke out.

"You...saved us... Thank you."

She didn't turn around, but she replied.

"This is enough trouble for you tonight. Your father is going to kill you."

Corvade is strange. But most of all, she's powerful. She was able to beat the infamous Crescent Reaper along with the woman who was an executive for the Crimson Eclipse.

She sauntered away from us, her black boots stomping on the road.

But I wonder... Why did she mention my dad?

After the defeat of Ruby, the villain that caused this whole mess, nearly all the other Crimson Eclipse grunts were apprehended. With the help of heroes, police, and civilians, everyone was evacuated safely off the festival grounds. Interestingly, Midoriya did come back for me. He was one of the civilians along with Fuyumi who gathered the heroes up. When we met up, I was immediately met with the relieved tears of Midoriya and Fuyumi. Although Fuyumi managed to calm down, Midoriya was practically bawling his eyes out.

Masterbaiter and Strawberry Shades were sent to the hospital before I could see them one last time. Although I knew that they were probably going to be okay, I couldn't help but worry. I also felt undeniably guilty too; I was the reason why they were in that condition in the first place. Meanwhile, I only spotted the members of Blackbird for a moment, and that was when Furutani slipped Hiro's phone into his pockets. It seems like they were able to defeat the one creating the giant force field. Heroes were talking about it. I didn't get to ask them about it though. They ran off before I could.

When Hiro and I walked out into the crowd of police and paramedics, Mom and Dad were waiting for us. As expected, the tears came out of Mom's eyes like a faucet. Dad was enraged with me and gave me a good scolding as my ankle gash was healed by Recovery Girl. He also grounded me. However, on the drive back home, his hands were shaking on the steering wheel. Mom noticed it too, but she didn't say anything. We rode in silence.

I stared at my dirty fingernails. They were still trembling from adrenaline. Also, the same tingling feeling that was present nearly the entire time during the attack was still there. It was beginning to make my fingers turn numb.

This feeling... It's happening way too often for it to be a coincidence. This has to mean something.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Dad glance at me. It was only for a split second, but I saw a calculating yet nervous gleam in his eyes. They darted back on the road.

I felt it again. It was definitely there. That intense emotion. And for the first time since the sludge incident, I felt it significantly grow stronger.

The day it erupted drew closer.


	16. Burger King Foot Lettuce

It's been a week since the incident. I haven't seen any members of Blackbird since. I hope that Strawberry Shades and Masterbaiter are okay. They did get hurt pretty badly during the hero festival. It's weird to say but getting captured by villains nowadays was boring without them. Whenever Strawberry Shades or any of the other members of Blackbird came, they made things chaotic. But in a good way.

Gosh, what am I even thinking? Isn't it good that it's less chaotic? I shouldn't be upset over something like this. But... Although I hate to admit it, I did miss seeing that loud, justice-hungry strawberry hero run around in a pink suit.

I gazed down at my hands as the sink water trickled on them.

Since that time, I've been trying to feel that sensation again. I've been able to do it a couple of times, but it usually doesn't work. I couldn't control it. What I did realize is that the tingling feeling comes back right when I'm about to get hit by something. When it does, nothing ever happens to me. I come out unscratched.

I closed the water knob with my elbow. I turned to dry my hands only to be disappointed.

Of course, there are no paper towels. This Burger King never refills the dispenser.

I had to resort to wiping my hands on my shorts. I would wipe them on my sweater, but I didn't want to ruin the picture of Landalf the Silver. Then unlocking the door and pushing it open, I stopped upon seeing the scene in front of me.

All the customers and workers in the restaurant were huddled by the condiment counter in the middle. Around them were six villains wearing clown costumes. They had bright yellow suits with red and white striped sleeves and socks. Their shoes were squeaky clean and their equally bright shoelaces tied tightly. On their heads was a bush of red, curly hair. Their faces were painted white with a red nose and a smile.

Wait a minute... Are they all dressed as Ronald Mcdonald?

Seeing me make my appearance, the tallest Ronald Mcdonald pointed a yellow gloved finger at me.

"Hey! We missed someone!" he exclaimed. On cue, two of them ran over to me. Grabbing me by my arms, they dragged me to the rest of the hostages and threw me on the floor.

"Kids these days are so rude..." Dad muttered bitterly to himself as he sipped his soda. I noticed that he was the only person who was sitting at a table. Our food came out and he was eating it...without me.

"But Dad," I said standing up. "Didn't you punch a teacher in high school?"

He told me to be quiet or else he was going to extend my grounding time.

"What are you doing? Sit back down!" a Ronald Mcdonald barked as I sauntered over to the table Dad was sitting at. I ignored him. Peeking at the empty cases of Zesty sauce, I gave Dad a disappointed look.

"Hey... Why'd you use all the Zesty sauce?" I remarked.

He raised a thick eyebrow and told me to get some more. Letting out a sigh, I went to stand up when another Ronald Mcdonald appeared.

"Zesty sauce? Psh! How lame," he retorted. "How about some delicious Szechuan sauce instead?"

Reaching into his pockets, he pulled out a bundle of it. He dropped it onto our table and beckoned me to eat.

"Um... I don't think that's going to taste good with onion rings," I said. "Let me just go grab the Zesty-"

"Just use it!" he yelled.

I slowly sat back in my seat as I watched the clown march away. Turning back to my meal, I peeled open the black plastic of the famed Rick and Morty sauce. I dipped an onion ring. As I chewed it in my mouth, I realized that I was right; Szechuan sauce does not taste good with onion rings.

Swallowing the odd tasting snack, I reached over and sipped my drink. I asked Dad about what happened while I was in the bathroom. He told me that some clown freaks came in claiming that we were their hostages now. They grabbed all the customers and employees. He said that they wanted to take revenge on the restaurant for making the nearby Mcdonald's shut down. And now, we were on lockdown.

"Oh. Is that why there's a horde of cop cars outside?" I asked pointing at the large windows.

"Of course," he said reaching for his Whopper. He unwrapped it and began to take a bite when a hand comes slapping it away. The greasy sandwich fell staining the tiles.

"What was that for?!" Dad snapped turning to a different Ronald Mcdonald that appeared next to us.

"No need to get so worked up! Whoppers are trash anyway!" he chirped. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cardboard box. "Have a Big Mac!"

Dad muttered incomprehensibly under his breath as he opened the sandwich box. He angrily took a bite out of it as he chewed his diabetic sandwich bitterly.

"And while we're at it," he said turning to me. He grabbed my chicken sandwich and chucked it on the floor. His shiny red boots stomped on it repeatedly.

"Uh, I don't think that's really necessary-"

"Our McChicken is better!"

Then he pulled out another sandwich and plopped it in front of me. He marched away and gave his buddies a high-five.

We ate as everyone else watched us from below. It was extremely uncomfortable. Although my back was turned against them, I could feel their hungry stares pierce into my back. I started to get self-conscious about how I chewed my sandwich and did my best not to chew so loud. However, the only thing I could hear in the quiet restaurant was the sounds of my teeth grinding down my salty meal.

Dad sensed my disturbed air and spoke.

"What is it? Are you embarrassed that you're eating with me?"

"Yeah."

I swore I saw pain flash in his eyes. Seeing that, I quickly reiterated my words.

"I-I mean, I'm not uncomfortable because I'm eating with you," I explained. "It's just a little awkward because we're the only ones eating..."

Dad closed his eyes. He awkwardly coughed.

"Oh. I see," he said. "Then..."

He suddenly stood up. His chair squeaked on the tiled floors. Marching over to the group of hostages on the ground, he pointed his finger at them.

"Why are you all just sitting there? Stand up and eat!" he said.

They eyed at each other nervously. One of the clowns stepped in front of him. He stared down with a threatening glare.

"Haaaa? What'a you sayin', fool? You think this is a little tea party?" he snarled. "You a hostage. All of you are hostages. Now sit back down here 'fore I get angry."

"You dare speak to me in that manner?" Dad growled.

"Do I look like I care?"

"Tch. Kids these days are so rude..."

"Uh, but Dad, didn't you kick a hole to the door for your homeroom classroom-"

"Rin, I am not speaking to you!"

"Okay... Sorry..." I muttered sticking a fry into my mouth.

Dad turned back to the rude clown with a disapproving frown.

"Now, please move out of my way, and let the rest of them eat."

The rest of the Ronald Mcdonalds joined in on the argument.

"Bwahaha!" the tallest Ronald Mcdonald laughed. "Did you hear this Grandpa? He told us to move!"

They all erupted into laughter. Meanwhile, I saw the rage slowly growing on Dad's face. I sipped my soda nervously.

"Whatcha gon do? Huuuuh?" the Ronald Mcdonald with an earring taunted.

"Yah! Like you can do anything!" his buddy beside him piped.

They laughed again. Then the one in the middle, which was the guy that first approached him, pulled out a ketchup packet. Ripping it open with his teeth, he drizzled it onto Dad's graying head. All of them cackled while Dad stood there silently.

Okay, I should probably stop him before things escalate.

Getting up from my seat and walking over, I said, "Dad, um, you should forget about it. Just let them be. The heroes are gonna be here soon anyway."

"What?! Heroes?! Are you saying that we're no match for them?!" The one on the far left exclaimed walking up to me.

"Well... Yeah. They are trained fighters after all," I simply replied. "You guys just look like a gang of clowns."

That promptly pissed him off. He grabbed me by my collar and held me up to his white face. It was an interesting sight to see an angry clown; it was scary enough to make a 5-year-old cry. However, I wasn't affected by his menacing face and I stared at him blankly.

"You know what? I think it's a good time for the great taste of Mcdonald's," he said with an angry smile. He raised his fist to punch me. Before he could, Dad's hand grips onto his arm. He turns to Dad.

"Seems like Grandpa is getting angry," he mocked.

Dad's eyes were filling up with rage. If there's something he hates the most, it's being called Grandpa. It's not his fault that he started prematurely graying and balding at age fifty. Actually, isn't that the time when people do start that? Now that I think about it... How old is Dad?

"Hey, Dad. Are you fifty?" I asked.

"Didn't we already have this conversation?" he grumbled. "I am forty-four! Forty-four!"

Amidst his anger, he squeezed the villain's arm. The villain let out a cry of pain. Hearing that, his other buddies immediately came up from behind and grabbed Dad. They dragged him away as he kicked and yelled. He demanded them to let him go, or else he was going to sue them.

"Now... Where were we?" the villain asked with an evil grin. "Oh yeah! I was about to give you the great taste of Mcdonald's!"

"What do you think you're doing? Don't you dare lay a hand on my daughter!" Dad hollered. He got slugged in the face and got told to shut up. Turning to the group of people near us, Dad beckoned them to stand up and fight.

"Quit sitting there like mindless ducks and do something!" he exclaimed. "There are six of them against the twelve of us! We can beat them!"

"Didn't I tell ya to shut up?!" One of the Ronald Mcdonalds yelled. A jet of water sprays from his mouth and splashes his face.

"Come on! Stand up!" Dad persisted, his face dripping with water. "Be Your Way!"

"Dude just shut this Grandpa up already!" the other three clowns said.

The clown that sprayed Dad with water opened his mouth again. I watched as it spurted out toward his face.

Okay, Rin, now's your chance. Do it.

Curling my hand into a ball, I braced myself. I held my breath as the stream of water headed straight for his face.

"I'm not done with you yet!" the clown holding me said. My attention shifted back to him and his thrusting fist.

Oh yeah. I forgot about this guy. I'm gonna get hit, aren't I?

Before the fist reaches me, a long tongue wraps around his arm. Looking to where it came from, I saw a girl who resembled a frog. She was kind of short. She had long, dark hair that reached past her waist. She was up on her feet with her mouth open.

"Ew! What the hell?!" the villain shuddered. He let go of me and shook his other arm in an attempt to get the tongue off. "Let go of me, you freak!"

Steam started to rise from his arm. The frog girl winced in pain. Her tongue shot back into her mouth. The other three clowns went to grab her when a shield of people blocked her. All the hostages from before were up on their feet. They were angry.

"We've had enough of your jokes," A woman with purple skin said. The people around her nodded. A Burger King employee walked up. He cracked his knuckles. Frost rose from his fists.

"This is Burger King, where you're the boss!" he cried.

On cue, everyone charged at the clowns. The three in the front were knocked down. Meanwhile, I zipped away from the villain in front of me. I nearly bumped into the frog girl who expertly jumped away from a villain's fists.

"Excuse me," she croaked. She stared at me with her oval eyes as she scratched her chin. Her stare was a bit unsettling.

"Oh... Yeah, uh, thanks for saving me back there," I said, the two of us ducking down as a chair flies over our heads.

"No problem, kero. My name is Asui Tsuyu."

"I'm Onishi Rin."

A food tray comes heading straight for my head. My fingers started feeling tingling again. Without thinking, I clenched my hand just as it was about to bonk me. The tan tray goes flying to the right and smacks a stray Ronald Mcdonald in the face.

I did it again. Why does it always work when I'm about to get hit?

"Uh, your quirk seems interesting," I awkwardly said as I handed a Burger King employee plastic spoon. I wasn't sure why he asked for it until I saw him jab it into the clown's shoulder. The clown let out a shriek as he gets knocked down by the crowd of people who proceeded to beat him up.

These people are...intense.

"Thank you, Onishi-chan," Asui replied with a smile.

Wow... What a nice smile.

"I was glad that I was able to stop the villain in time. Thanks to your dad's inspiring speech, that gave us the strength to fight back."

Oh yeah, I forgot about Dad. How's he doing?

Excusing myself, I ran toward Dad who was trying to fend off his capturers. However, Asui insisted on accompanying me so we both scurried over to him.

"I said...let go of me!" Dad exclaimed. With just the sheer strength in his arms, he was able to thrust them back. They were knocked off balance for a split second, but they were able to regain their footing.

I turned to Dad who was standing with his head hanging low. The ketchup from before that mixed in with the water trickled down his face. It looked like blood. He stood there, menacingly. The other two clowns who were holding him noticed his intense presence. They got into battle mode and prepared to fight him.

Uh oh. He's pissed now.

"Oh? It seems like Grandpa's pretty strong," the Ronald Mcdonald who didn't spray him remarked.

Dad picked up a fry that had fallen on the floor. Seeing that, the villain snickered.

"What're fries gonna do?" he mocked. "Are you gonna feed me to death?"

Without warning, Dad chucks a fry at him. I thought it was gonna hit but it flew behind him instead. Then in a flash, Dad's figure disappeared. A soggy fry appeared next to me. As it landed on the floor, I watched as Dad slugged the clown with his fists.

—- —-

Ｏｎｉｓｈｉ Ｒｙｕｓａｋｉ

Ｑｕｉｒｋ： Ｓｗｉｔｃｈ

Ｂｙ ｔｈｒｏｗｉｎｇ ａｎ ｏｂｊｅｃｔ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ ａｉｒ， ｈｅ ｃａｎ ｓｗｉｔｃｈ ｐｌａｃｅｓ ｗｉｔｈ

ｔｈａｔ ｏｂｊｅｃｔ ｂｅｆｏｒｅ ｉｔ ｔｏｕｃｈｅｓ ｔｈｅ ｇｒｏｕｎｄ．

—- —-

The villain let out a scream as he loudly crashed into the line of tables and chairs. His buddy's eyes grew wide in shock of Dad's raw power. He watched as Dad grabbed the dirty mop nearby. Raising his right knee up, he broke the mop in half. He tossed the bottom away and it clattered on the ground. Then slapping the broken wood in his hands, Dad gave the villain a dark look.

"Fuckin' asshat..." he rasped.

"Kero? It seems like your dad has everything under control," Asui remarked casually. She didn't seem that bothered by Dad's vulgar language.

A jet of water spurts from the villain's mouth. It splashes onto his face. However, he was completely unaffected. In fact, it made him even angrier. As he walked over to him, the clown backed away nervously.

"I'm mcfuckin' done with yo clown shit," Dad remarked tapping his makeshift bat on his palms. "If yo wanna go, then let's settle this shit right now."

The Ronald Mcdonald gulped nervously. Seeing the fear, a wide grin spread on Dad's lips.

_Uh oh. He's reverting back to his high school self._

"Kero?" Asui repeated, but with a hint of worry. Hearing that, I slowly walked up to him.

"Um Dad," I nervously said. However, he didn't hear me due to all the chaos that was happening around us. The hostages were beating up the clowns with their quirks and their fists. Some grabbed condiments from the counter nearby and sprayed them with ketchup.

I watched Dad as he proceeded to beat up the water clown with his makeshift bat. The clown tried his best to fight back by blinding him with water jets, but it was no use; that only made him stronger.

Leaning my head to the left to get a better view, I saw that several bruises were beginning to appear on the villain's painted face. His makeup was also washing away. It looked a bit unsettling with splashes of red and black dripping from his nose, eyes, and lips.

"K-Kero?" Asui said. There was a bit of sweat on the side of her head and her mouth was turned down.

She must totally think that my dad is a thug now. Well, that was somewhat true. Mom told me he was in a gang when he was younger. It's kind of hard to believe now that he's older, but it wasn't too far of a stretch. He did have a way with words when he gets angry.

I should probably stop him before this gets worse.

"Dad," I said again.

"Hey, hey, hey! It was just a prank!" The Ronald Mcdonald quickly said. Regret was smoldered in his eyes. He was curled up on the floor as Dad towered over him.

"Why the long face?" he taunted.

"Dad," I said a bit louder.

"Put a Smile On!"

Dad lifted his bat up to finish the deed. The Ronald Mcdonald shrieked as the wooden handle bonked the top of his head. The light in his eyes went out, and he knocked out.

"Uh... Dad?" I nervously said approaching him cautiously.

He slowly turned around. He didn't look like himself anymore. He wore a tough and rugged expression on his face. His eyes were wide and his thick eyebrows slanted. His lip was perked to the side, baring his teeth. There was a dark shadow cast over his face.

****"Don't get in my way, you damn kid," he growled.

**_Uh oh. He's full-on delinquent now._**

Turning around, he started walking toward the remaining two clowns (one of the clowns got beat up with a chair by the purple girl). They stopped, and so did the rest of the people. They quietly watched as Dad walked up to the clowns dragging his bat on the floor. Then stopping in front of them, he smacked the bat on the metal table leg at a nearby table. They flinched. The people flinched too.

"Now... Who's face should I smash in next?" he growled.

"Ke...ro?" Asui said. A mixture of confusion, shock, and concern was plastered in her wide eyes as she scratched her chin nervously.

Yep. She definitely thinks that my dad is a thug.

I thought that the two villains would do something, but I saw that they were too frightened. They stared at him with fearful eyes. They were sweating so much that their makeup was beginning to drip off their faces. Meanwhile, Dad started picking his next victim.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe," he sang alternating the tip of his bat the villains. "Hit a sissy with a bat, if it doesn't knock'em flat, hit him harder just like...that."

It landed on the Ronald Mcdonald with the earring. His life flashed before his eyes as he watched Dad raise his bat up in the air. But before he could finish him off, a hand goes slamming into his shoulder. The clown who held me hostage hit him with his steaming fists that were exposed. It must've been scorching hot because his fists instantly burned a hole through Dad's shirt.

"Ha! I got you, damn Grandpa!" he sneered. "Are you lovin' it?!"

His face turned whiter than before upon seeing the tattoo on his shoulder. It was a monochromatic tattoo of a viper that had knives stabbed into its face. Gray blood seeped out of its wounds and eyes as it barred its sharp fangs.

"W-w-wait a minute... I've seen that brand before," the clown said with wobbly words. "Th-that's the symbol for the Venom's Bane; the notorious gang!"

His buddies who were shaking in their boots gulped.

"V-venom's Bane?" the Ronald Mcdonald with the big nose gulped. "D-didn't they disband thirty years ago?"

"We did," Dad replied, gazing over to him. That sent chills running down his back along with everyone else behind him.

"That's right!" a man with spectacles who looked around Dad's age piped. "But I heard that not all of them were caught by the police!"

Everyone in the room shuddered especially the villains. They looked like they were about to piss themselves.

"Were they really that dangerous..?" I said to myself, gazing over at Dad's figure as he proceeded to beat up the villain who punched him while he cackled maniacally.

"Have you not heard of them, Onishi-chan?" Asui asked peering up at me.

"No... I've had but..."

I sometimes forget that an old geezer like my dad was involved in such a notorious gang.

Despite the fearful expressions that were previously plastered on the civilians' faces, they all wore a look of delight now. In fact, they began cheering Dad as he smacked the Ronald Mcdonalds with his bat.

"Go! Go! Go!"

"Beat'em up! That's what they get for interrupting my meal!"

"Now that's a whole new way to love Mcdonald's!"

"I gotta record this! This is going viral!"

I watched as the crowd grew louder and louder. They laughed and clapped as the Ronald Mcdonald that burned a hole through Dad's shirt knocked out. Some of the clowns tried to escape but the customers were blocking the door. They weren't letting them go.

This is an odd situation. It's been a while since something like this bizarre happened. It reminds me of the crazy scenes Blackbird create whenever they appear.

A stifled chuckle escaped my lips. But then, a tinge of melancholy pricked me.

Eh? I think I actually miss them.

"Ahuhuhu! The heroes have arrived!" Static's sudden voice sang.

Turning toward the kitchen, I saw the all-too-familiar sight of three heroes. Static was standing gallantly on top of the counter, Furutani was huddled glumly in her dark corner, and Mitsumu wore a cheeky grin on his face with his pink sleeping mask over his forehead.

The people paid no attention to their appearance. They were too indulged in Dad's public beating to notice. They continued to cheer as another Ronald Mcdonald faints. His body tipped on the floor with a stream of blood coming out of his nostrils. Or paint. I couldn't really tell.

"Ahem! I said the heroes have arrived!" Static repeated, a bit louder.

A teenage boy wearing a baseball cap that was documenting everything with his phone turned to her with an irritated look.

"We heard ya the first time, off-brand Midnight. You came too late."

He turned back around and continued to cheer for Dad.

"Wh-what?! Did he just call me an off-brand Midnight?!" Static exclaimed angrily. "Let me show that kid a lesson!"

Jumping off the counter, she cracked her knuckles as she marched over to him. She went to slap the kid in the head.

Oh. That's probably a bad idea.

Without thinking, I clenched my fists. Her hand zipped up in the air.

"What the-"

She suddenly halted to a stop. I noticed that Mitsumu was wearing his sleeping mask now. He let out a giggle.

"Now, now, Static-chan! Ms. Boss said beating up high schoolers is a big no-no!"

She tried to move her body but it was no use. She just started shaking.

"C'mon, Mitsu! I gotta banish this kid to the shadow realm!" she whined. "Riny! I know you're there! Not cool, sis! Furutani! Hit Mitsumu so he breaks concentration!"

Furutani let out a sad sigh.

"You've been more hotheaded ever since...Masterbaiter went...into recovery..." she rasped. Holding her hands up to her ears, she said, "Too...loud... I wish Strawberry Shades were here so I didn't...have to come..."

—- —-

Ｍｉｔｓｕｍｕ

Ｑｕｉｒｋ： Ｒｅｆｌｅｃｔｉｖｅ Ｖｉｓｉｏｎ

Ｈｅ ｃａｎ ｔｒａｎｓｐｏｒｔ ｈｉｓ ｖｉｓｉｏｎ ｔｏ ａｎｙ ｒｅｆｌｅｃｔｉｖｅ ｓｕｒｆａｃｅ，

ｉｎｃｌｕｄｉｎｇ ｐｅｏｐｌｅ＇ｓ ｅｙｅｓ．

Ｔｈａｔ ｇｒａｎｔｓ ｈｉｍ ｔｈｅ ａｂｉｌｉｔｙ ｔｏ ｃｏｎｔｒｏｌ ｔｈｅｉｒ ｍｏｖｅｍｅｎｔｓ，

ａｌｔｈｏｕｇｈ ｔａｋｉｎｇ ｉｍｍｅｎｓｅ ｃｏｎｃｅｎｔｒａｔｉｏｎ！

—- —-

"Aren't those the local vigilantes?" Asui inspected. "It seems like you're acquainted? Kero?"

I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly.

"...Yeah. Maybe a bit."

Suddenly, the crowd roared. Focusing my attention back on the public beating, I saw that the three clowns were lying on the ground. They wore a dazed look in their eyes with their faces blistering with bruises. Dad stood over them like a hungry wolf as the customers praised his work.

"That was awesome!"

"What an absolute unit!"

"They were no match for a former Venom's Bane member!"

Lifting his right arm up, he held his bat in the air letting out a harsh laugh.

"Those fuckin' clowns were no match for me! What a buncha damn cowards!"

The crowd erupted in delight.

Oh boy. Dad's gone nuts, and these people are actively supporting him in committing borderline crimes. What am I supposed to do now?

"Mitsumu! Let me go! I hear him! There's a villain that needs to be Thanos snapped!" Static exclaimed.

"Nyehehe! Silly, you! That's not a bad guy!" Mitsumu giggled. "That's just Rin-chan's papa!"

"...What was that?"

I stiffened.

"Uh... How did you know that was my dad?"

Mitsumu turned his face to me with a wide grin plastered on his lips.

"Let's just say, I've been doing my research!"

I think I've been taking my days without seeing Blackbird for granted.

»»—- —-««

After the appearance of Blackbird, the police came. They expected to be met with terrified hostages only to be met with an intense mob that was cheering a crazed old man holding a bat surrounded by unconscious clowns. They were a bit confused about who was the villain in this situation and tried to arrest Dad. But luckily with the help of Mitsumu, Dad didn't get arrested.

"Um... Thanks for trying to save me, again," I said to Static as the police hauled the Ronald Mcdonalds away.

Static let out a sigh as she shook her finger at me.

"Little Onishi Rin... You're a troublemaking gal, aren't ya?" she teased. "But still, it's crazy how you're still alive! I swear you're getting held hostage every single day! Doesn't it get tiring?"

I sighed in a mixture of defeat and embarrassment.

"Yeah, it does," I replied dryly. "Anyway... Thanks for stopping the forcefield at the hero festival."

It came out a bit more monotone than expected, but the three vigilantes seemed to sense my gratitude. Static beamed. Furutani shivered to herself.

"Ugh... What is this feeling?" she mumbled.

"Nyehehe! Furutani-chan, that's the feeling of happiness!" Mitsumu chirped.

"...It feels weird. I don't like it."

Mitsumu turned to me.

"I know! You're wondering how our strawberry hero and favorite fisherman is doing!" he said. "They're taking a break right now. Ms. Boss ordered them to take it easy for the next two weeks. They'll be good in no time!"

"Oh. Okay," I replied, feeling a bit more relieved. They did leave before I got to see them again. That's good that they're recovering.

Without warning, Static suddenly grabbed me by my cheeks. She leaned down to me with sparkles in her eyes.

"Was that a smile? I'm pretty sure that was a smile! That smile can totally knock guys off their feet!"

"Hey! Get yo damn hands off my daughter!" Dad barked, still stuck in his delinquent persona.

"Whoops! It seems like Riny's thug dad is here!" she said jumping away.

"Who the hell are you callin' a thug?!"

He began to lecture her about respecting her elders. I found it kind of ironic considering that he didn't respect them when he was younger. I've heard this lecture many times, 59 times to be exact, so I muted it out.

I heard my phone buzz. I pulled it out of my short pockets to see that I got a message from Peppermint Hair.

【 ɪ ꜰᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴀɴ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴇꜱᴛɪɴɢ ᴠɪᴅᴇᴏ ᴏɴʟɪɴᴇ. 】 ₄:₁₃ ₚₘ

There was a link. Knowing him, it was probably another cat video or a How To Cook tutorial. Clicking on it, a blurry thumbnail of a tall man beating up a clown with a stick showed. The title read: ? ? ? _EX-GANG MEMBER BEATS THE SHIT OUT OF CLOWNS! _? ? ? !GOne WRONG 11 ? _(not clickbait)_

Playing the video, I heard the cheers of a crowd nearby. All their faces were blurred but I could tell that it was a video of Dad.

This happened ten minutes ago. How did it already get uploaded?

"Kero? That was fast," Asui said from behind.

I quickly clicked out of the video. I hid my phone.

"Did I surprise you? My bad, Onishi-chan," she croaked, scratching her chin.

I told her that it was fine. Noticing my nerdy sweatshirt, her eyes lit up.

"Do you read _Rings of the Lord_, too, Onishi-chan?"

"What? Oh, you must've noticed my shirt," I remarked, pointing at it. It was a picture of an old man with a white beard. He wore a wizard hat and held a staff.

We began to discuss the amazing trilogy. We talked about our favorite characters. Her favorite character was San, which was the same as mine. We also debated which book was the best. I said it was the last book. She preferred the first. However, we agreed that the prequel was a masterpiece.

"I really enjoyed The Mobbit, kero," she said. "I think I've read it 20 times."

"That book was pretty good..." I agreed. "I should read it again."

Our heartfelt conversation was cut short when Dad marched over to me. Grabbing me by my arm, he demanded that we head home and get away from "that rude young runt that has the listenin' capacities of Beethoven". Asui somehow didn't get threatened by my dad's colorful past and gave me her phone number. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be shocked or happy. Either way, I promised her that we will continue our book talk later.

"See ya, Riny!" Static waved to me as Dad dragged me away. Hearing that, he raised a thick eyebrow at me.

"Haaa? Don't tell me you know that foo," Dad roughly said.

"Nope. I have no idea who she is."

"Hey! I heard that!"

I began to walk faster as Static continued to call after me.

"You hurt me!" she whined. "I was just gonna tell you that Strawberry Shades and Masterbaiter miss ya, and they can't wait to save ya again! Also, to say thank you for moving them out of danger during the attack!"

I halted to a stop.

How...how did they know that?

A long, dark shadow zipped over to us. In an instant, it went back. On the ground was a thin, red and pink braided bracelet. It had my name on it. I picked it up.

"That's from Strawberry Shades! It's s'pposed to be a thank you present!"

"What the hell is she talkin' about?" Dad asked me, turning around.

"N-nothing," I quickly said, jogging up to him. "Let's just go."

I inspected the bracelet. Then tying it around my left wrist, the edges of my lips curled up.

It's such a simple token of gratitude. Yet, I couldn't help but feel happy.

But that warmth was crushed upon getting home.

"...What?" I said in disbelief.

Mom, who had just gotten home from work and was sitting at the kitchen table, hung her head low. Then in an instant, she looked at me with an innocent smile.

"I've invited my co-worker and her family to come over for dinner this Thursday!"

"I know," I replied. "But what were their names?"

Dad flung his shoes off grumbling to himself as he stomped upstairs. Mom stood up from her seat. She began to follow Dad up to change out of her work clothes.

"Bakugo!" she chirped. She pushed Dad up the stairs and disappeared from my view.

Crap.


	17. Let Me Hear

**New Message to:**

**Peppermint Hair **

₅:₅₈ ₚₘ 【 ɪ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ʜᴇʟᴘ 】

* * *

"Rin! What are you doing?" Dad hissed, bursting into my room. Fumbling with my phone, Dad told me to quit hiding in my room and get downstairs to greet the guests.

They're here already? When did they arrive? I didn't even hear the doorbell ring...

I let out a deep sigh. Getting up from my bed, I began to make my way to the stairs. I made sure to take a quick look at myself in the bathroom mirror before heading down but found that Dad was using it.

I'm sure I look fine. Hopefully.

Hearing the lighthearted chattering of my mom's voice along with two other unfamiliar ones made me feel uneasy. I hated when guests came over. It's gotten worse since Hiro went away to work. Now, I'm the one who has to fill in during the silence but I always make it awkward. I'm a terrible conversationalist. I wish I could hide in my room.

Going downstairs, I saw a young woman speaking animatedly with Mom. She had pale-blonde, spiky hair that touched her shoulders. She wore a light blue v-neck sweater with a white shirt underneath. Besides her, was a meek-looking man with ruffled brown hair. He had rectangle glasses and a small mustache. They were sitting on the sofa.

"And then, we ended up getting married and the rest is history," Bakugo's mom said.

The man, who was her husband, pushed his glasses up bashfully.

"M-Mitsuki... Must you really tell the story of how we met every time we have dinner with others?"

His wife boldly proclaimed her affection toward him which only made him even more embarrassed. Then taking notice of me, her eyes lit up.

"There you are, Rin," Mom said. I awkwardly walked over to the living room. Turning to the guests, she introduced me.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Bakugo's mom said standing up. We gave each other a slight bow. "I'm Bakugo Mitsuki."

"And I'm Bakugo Masaru," her husband said, doing the same. After that, I stiffly sat down on the chair across from them.

"I have a son around your age. Are you in junior high, Onishi-chan?" Mitsuki asked.

I nodded.

"I see!" she said. "You're quite cute already! I'm sure you'll grow up to be a beautiful girl."

Mom let out a delighted giggle. I found myself beginning to grow a bit warm as I struggled to reply.

Then, I heard a door close. It came from the hallway to the left of me. Looking ahead, I saw a certain explosive boy come into view. We immediately locked eyes. For a moment, we stared at each other. Each second that passed grew more excruciating. I wanted to look away but I couldn't. Luckily, his dad jumped in and saved us from making our awkward encounter even worse.

"Ah! This is our son, Katsuki," he introduced. "Katsuki, this is Onishi-san's daughter, Rin."

Bakugo's red eyes flickered to me. He peered down at me like I was an annoying fly.

"I know that old man," he muttered, sauntering over to an empty seat.

Masaru tensed up upon hearing his rude reply. A strained smile appeared on Mitsuki's face. It looked like she wanted to comment on his language. Mom sensed the uncomfortable air. She decided to salvage the conversation.

"Oh?" Mom said, glancing at the two of us. "Rin, do you two know each other already?"

"Um... Yeah," I stiffly said. "We're in the same class."

I immediately felt Bakugo's eyes stab me like daggers, as his mom spoke.

"Really, now? I hope that he doesn't cause too much trouble for you," she said. "He can be a bit...difficult."

I glanced at the blonde-haired boy who stared me down.

"Right..."

»»—- —-««

"It's so great to see you again, Ryu-chan!" Mitsuki exclaimed. "Who would've thought that my favorite co-worker's husband was you? Your mannerisms have definitely changed over the years."

Hearing the word _favorite, _joy lit up in Mom's eyes. She could hardly contain her glee as she happily stuck stir-fried pork into her mouth.

"I see that you are still as peppy as ever," Dad calmly replied.

"And you are still as dark and brooding too."

As she continues to tell the table about her childhood memories with Dad, I noticed that Bakugo kept looking at me. I've been trying my best to ignore it, but I can practically feel his sharp gaze pierce my skin. Cautiously peering over, his eyes were filled with irritation. I quickly looked away.

He's been like that the entire time since he came. His parents were respectable and seemed like nice people but...what happened to him?

"Ah, really? I didn't know that you grew up with Ryusaki," Mom said in awe.

Mitsuki nodded.

"You see, he use to walk me home from school every day. He stopped once I got into junior high, but I would occasionally run into him in the street," she reminisced. "He may have been a delinquent, but I knew he was a big softie!"

Mom giggled in delight as she playfully shook Dad's shoulder.

"Teehee! Really, Dear? That's so sweet!"

Dad let out a sigh.

"Anyway, how's your sister? Is she doing well?" she asked.

Immediately, a solemn looked crossed his face. Mom's previous joyous expression fell. Mitsuki sensed the tensed mood. Her husband did too, and he shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Bakugo's gaze darted away from me. I peered at Dad.

"She is not here with us, anymore."

A sad look appeared in Mitsuki's eyes as she gazed down glumly.

"I see... That's a shame. My condolences."

I stared at Dad intently as he sipped his glass of water.

After dinner, I was stuck with cleaning duty. However, I preferred it that way. There was no way I was going to be able to entertain the guests without screwing it up. As Mom and Dad chatted about Hiro with them, I began to clean up. As I did, my mind drifted off to the conversation at the dinner table.

I didn't know Dad had a sister. How come he never told me about her? Does Hiro know this?

Carrying the dishes to the sink, I nearly bumped into Bakugo.

"Hey. Watch it," he gruffly remarked.

"Oh... Sorry," I mumbled. "Uh... What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to clean up," he grumbled picking up a bowl. "Don't get the wrong idea; my damn mom forced me to do this."

Great.

I suggested that he can wipe the dinner table while I wash the dishes. Despite giving me a "Don't tell me what to do, damn Coconut", he still listened.

Rinsing out the last plate, I placed it on the dishrack and dried my hands. I noticed that Bakugo was reaching into the trash to throw the bag away. He must've noticed that the other homes had their trash out and assumed that trash day was tomorrow. Seeing that, I told him that I can do it. He ignored me. Walking over to him, I grabbed the red plastic string from his fingers. He gave me a frown.

"I'll throw it out," I repeated looking into his eyes.

He tugged on the trashbag leaning the trashbag toward him.

"Shut up," he hissed.

I tugged it back.

"Just let me do it."

For a minute, we both argued about who was gonna throw the trash out while pulling the bag back and forth from each other. Bakugo's eyes were slowly filling up with irritation, while my voice had a tinge of vexation.

"I told you, I can do it," I said through my teeth as I gripped the trash bag.

"Screw off!" Bakugo grunted.

"If I don't do it, my dad is gonna ground me."

"If I don't do it, the old lady will scream my fuckin' ears off when we get home."

Staring at him, I found how similar our parents were. Then, an idea popped in my head. It was a bit embarrassing, but it was one that would avoid getting our parents upset.

"That was fucking stupid," Bakugo grumbled as we walked down the evening street.

"But at least we didn't get in trouble," I retorted.

My semi-idiotic and semi-genius plan worked. I suggested that we both carry the trash out. Although I didn't like the idea of walking side-by-side next to Bakugo as we carried out a lump of trash, it had to do. When we walked into the living room, his mom and my dad's eyes immediately flickered to us. They didn't say anything and continued on with their conversation.

"Where the hell do you put the trash?" the explosive blonde asked.

"Uh, my neighborhood has designated places for it," I explained. "It's to make the collection process a lot easier. Though, I wish it was a bit closer to my house..."

"Well, how far is it?"

"It's probably another five minutes."

Bakugo cursed under his breath.

We walked in silence. It wasn't completely night yet but it was dark enough for the light posts to turn on. As his sneakers and my flip flops thumped on the street, I can practically feel his negative energy seep out of his body. He was absolutely pissed. It'll be wise to keep my mouth shut.

I peeked up at him.

Now that I think about it, he has nice skin. It's so clear and smooth.

Bakugo caught me staring at him, and I immediately looked the other way. He wasn't going to let me off the hook though because he yelled at me.

"The fuck you lookin' at?!"

"Uh... Nothing."

"Damn liar!"

"Okay, jeez, fine," I mumbled. "I was just noticing how clear your skin is..."

Surprisingly, he didn't respond back. He was silent the entire walk. When arriving at the trash site, he roughly dropped the bag on the ground.

"Uh, you should probably be a bit gentler-"

"Shut up!"

Turning his back toward me, he jammed his hands into his jeans and walked off.

"...Um, that's the wrong way," I informed.

"Shut the fuck up!" he barked, explosion blasting from his palms.

No need to yell every single time. He makes my ears hurt.

As we began to walk back, I felt my phone vibrate in my sweater pocket. I saw that Todoroki responded to my text.

* * *

【 ᴅɪᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇᴇᴛ ᴜᴘ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʏᴏᴜ? ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ? 】 ⁶:⁵¹ ᵖᵐ

⁶:⁵² ᵖᵐ 【 ᴛʜᴀᴛꜱ ɴᴏᴛ ɴᴇᴄᴇꜱꜱᴀʀʏ. ɪᴛ'ꜱ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ꜱᴇʀɪᴏᴜꜱ 】

【 ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴡʀᴏɴɢ? 】

* * *

I glanced at Bakugo to make sure he wasn't looking. Then positioning my shoulder slightly to block my screen, I texted back.

* * *

【 ᴍʏ ᴍᴏᴍ ɪɴᴠɪᴛᴇᴅ ʜᴇʀ ᴄᴏ-ᴡᴏʀᴋᴇʀ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ꜰᴏʀ ᴅɪɴɴᴇʀ 】

⁶:⁵³ ᵖᵐ 【 ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴋɪᴅ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴍᴀꜱꜱɪᴠᴇ ᴊᴇʀᴋ ᴡʜᴏ ʜᴀᴛᴇꜱ ᴍʏ ɢᴜᴛꜱ 】

⁶:⁵⁴ ᵖᵐ【ɪ ᴅᴏɴᴛ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ】

【 ᴋ 】⁶:⁵⁵ ᵖᵐ

* * *

I let out a sigh. This guy was the wrong person to ask. I went to text him back when my phone flies out of my hands. Looking up, I saw that Bakugo had it. He was dangling it up in the air.

"Fucking loser. Are you texting your damn boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend..." I muttered, annoyed. "Can you give me my phone back?"

Bakugo's eyes flickered to the screen as he began to read through my messages. With his eyes scanning over a certain text, a flame lit in his eyes.

Crap. He must've read the part where I called him a massive jerk.

Without warning, he throws my phone on the ground. Before I could do anything, he immediately walks up to me. I can feel his breath as he glared down.

"It seems like Coconut-head is getting a bit cocky, eh?" he said. The light from the streetlight illuminated the left side of his face while the rest was obscured in darkness. His eyes glowed red with rage. I tried to move away but he let out a blast from his hand.

"Why don't you say it to my face?" he taunted. "C'mon. Say it."

I remained silent. I didn't want to make this situation worse. However, he didn't take my silence as an answer.

"I'm fuckin' talkin' to you!" he barked, grabbing my sweater. He pulled me up to his face.

**Thump... Thump... Thump...**

Please just leave me alone. I don't have time for this.

"What? You too much of a pussy?" he remarked. "I'll blast your damn face off."

"Fine," I sternly blurted. "You're a massive jerk."

An angry smile spread on his lips. He shoved me to the ground. My butt hit the hard cement as he sauntered over to me. He had his hands up ready to explode them.

"Heh. You actually said it," he said, amused. "But I'm still gonna blast ya."

Holding his palm out, he readied himself. I bolted from the ground. I sprinted away from him. But as I went past, he ignited his hands effectively boosting himself. His hand grabbed the back of my hoodie. He threw me against a wall and cornered me.

"Where do you think you're goin'?" he hissed as a blast exploded from his palm.

It was like time slowed as I watched a spark fly toward my face.

This feels too familiar. It's like we're replaying what happened from our Saturday detention. And now that I think about it... He definitely blasted me back then. But he lied about it saying that he didn't. I didn't get hit because I used my quirk.

**...I didn't get hit because I used my quirk.**

I stared at his face. Just as the fire reached my face, I clenched my fist. A gust of smoke blew. However, I didn't feel the impact. As the smoke cleared, I saw Bakugo's face contorted in a complex expression. His eyes were a bit wider than before. His mouth was open agape almost as if he wanted to say something but was struggling to find the right words. There was a dark stain on the left side of his face. It looked like something hot grazed his cheek. From behind, I saw that there was a black blur on the road. It looked like there was a fire there. Like there was an explosion.

**Thump. Thump. Thump.**

"...What the fuck did you do?" the blonde boy spoke.

I don't know.

"How did you do that?! Tell me right now!"

You're too loud.

Bakugo's eye twitched slightly. He grabbed my sweater again and pulled me up.

"This isn't the first time you did this. This happened the last time. You better tell me what the hell is going on before I beat the shit outta you."

**Just leave me alone.**

"I told you to fuckin' tell me!" he exclaimed.

Letting go of my collar, he went in for a punch.

**Thump, thump, thump.**

His fist jerked to the right. It barely grazed my face. Without thinking, my hands stretched out to him and pushed him. He lost his balance. I didn't even give him time to recover because my fist goes flying into his cheek. Staggering onto his feet, he rubbed his cheek tensely.

"You... fuckin' bitch."

I stood there in a mixture of shock and horror.

I couldn't believe that I did that.

**I hit Bakugo. **

I swallowed dryly. I began to feel my body tremble. I tried my best to resist it.

**Apologize. Diffuse the situation. Walk away. **

"I... I'm sorry," I pathetically said. "I-I... I didn't mean to..."

The fire inside his eyes intensified as he glared at me.

"_Sorry? _You gotta be fuckin' kidding me!" he laughed in disbelief. "I'll fuckin' kill you!"

Using his explosions to propel himself forward, he punched me in the face. Pain erupted from my left cheek. But accompanying that was the growing feeling of rage. Since he was close to me, I took that chance to grab onto his shirt. I tried to throw him down but he kept resisting.

"Get your damn hands off!" he screeched. He lifted his palm up and blasted me. But on instinct, my fingers curled and it missed me by a centimeter. It flew back at him nearly setting his hair on fire.

"I'm gonna smash your damn face into the ground!"

In a quick motion, he was able to throw me off of him. Flying back, Bakugo bolted up and seized me. He blasted me again. I was able to deflect it but immediately doing so, I felt his fist slam into my face. It hurt. A lot.

But that just made the burning sensation inside grow stronger.

He readied another punch. I managed to finally time a punch correctly, and his fist flew up. Tackling him onto the ground, I began to recklessly hit him with all my might.

"Get off, fatass!" he demanded.

I kept thrusting my fists at him. Ignitions set off from his palms. It made the two of us skid down the street, but I was latched onto him. I felt his hands begin to burn my clothes. There was an explosion near my right abdomen. It burned. Nevertheless, I couldn't stop myself. I was on autopilot. My brain was getting overridden.

"Die!" he hollered blasting my face.

I felt intense heat explode. My hair flew up as fire inched toward my nose. Locking my eyes on him, the blast zipped back and hit him in the face instead. As the smoke cleared, his face was covered in smog. His crimson eyes glowed in fury.

"You-"

"Shut up!"

I squeezed his dirty shirt tightly, breathing heavily. My heart was beating so fast. It was ready to explode. Everything was ready to explode.

"You're so loud! Just be quiet! I can't think straight!"

I could hardly hold it in anymore. The more I tried, the more it flowed out. My fingers trembled on his chest as it began to spill over.

"Why..? Why can't you leave me alone? I did nothing to you!" I said. "Every time you mocked me, pushed me around, and threatened me, I held everything back. I did what I always did. But why... Why can't I do it anymore?!"

I finally looked at Bakugo. Embedded on his face was an expression of surprise and confusion.

"The way you talk, the way you act, the way you pick on people, the way you refuse to acknowledge others' feelings, the way you immediately attack anyone for defending themselves..."

I stared him dead in the eyes.

"How do you expect to be a hero like that?!"

"...What do you know about being a hero?" he rasped, grabbing me. "You don't know a fuckin' thing about me, so don't try actin' high and mighty. I don't need to hear your preachy bullshit."

"And you don't know anything about me either!" I snapped.

"You're a nosy, little, rat that's always gettin' into my fuckin' business."

I felt anger rise up in my chest. I wanted to punch him so badly.

"Shut up... Shut the hell up!" I exclaimed, pulling his face up closer. "You're the one always getting in my damn business! To everyones! Why can't you realize that not everyone is gifted? Not everyone is strong like you! I'm not like you!"

My gaze hardened.

"You're a terrible person, Bakugo," I said, with venom dripping with every word that rolled off my tongue. "Midoriya shouldn't have saved you."

Immediately after saying those last lines, regret washed over me. Bakugo propelled me backward with an explosion. As he staggered up, a dark shadow casted over his face. Smoke fumed out of his hands. I thought Bakugo was going to hit me again, but he instead walked away.

I sat on the cement in silence. I was so much in my own world that I didn't even notice the tall man that had appeared in front of Bakugo. The sounds of Bakugo's explosions echoed in my ear. I watched as the man smoothly dodge his attack. He sent Bakugo flying with a heavy punch.

The stranger walked over to me. Gazing up, I saw that a man around my Dad's age was standing in front of me. He had sunken, gray eyes with very pale skin. His black hair was messily pulled back into a half ponytail. He wore a white shirt with a maroon blazer. An armor of bone covered his right fist. His sleeves were rolled up to expose a tattoo of a viper with knives embedded into it. It was the same tattoo as my Dad's.

The feeling he emitted made me feel sick. This man was dangerous.

"You're Ryu's kid, aren't you?" the man spoke. "My name is Kiyoshi. I'm an old friend of his. Let me cut to the chase."

He pulled me up to my feet. Gripping my hoodie, he leaned down.

"I need to have a little conversation with him, for old time's sake. You know, man-to-man. Friend-to-friend. Tell me where he is."

I didn't reply. I didn't even look at him. Instead, my eyes were settled on Bakugo who was on the ground. He was trying his best to stand up but the blow he received him Kiyoshi was painful. He was clutching his stomach.

The attacker noticed that I was distracted. He let go of me. Walking over to Bakugo, he roughly lifted him up.

"Let go!" Bakugo demanded, smoke fuming from his palms. Kiyoshi punched him in the gut again preventing the blonde from activating his quirk. Then dragging him over to me, he said,

"I watched the little fight you had with your buddy. Seems like you get along great."

"S-screw...off!" Bakugo grimaced.

He peered over to Bakugo.

"You're a lively one, aren't you? You seem more like Ryu's kid than his actual kid, but you don't look like him at all," he remarked, chuckling. Turning back to me, he said, "I've been keeping an eye on you for a while along with your brother. Your brother's quirk is the same as his father's, so I imagine that it'll be just as strong. But for you..."

Bakugo tried to escape again and, he elbowed him in the same spot. Salvia spits out of his mouth, and I stiffened.

"Your quirk is a curious case, isn't it?" he said, his eyes glimmering in the darkness. "You certainly didn't inherit your father's quirk or your mother's. It doesn't look like a combination either. So, if you didn't inherit either of your parent's quirks or receive a fusion of the two... Then what could have possibly happened?"

"What...what are you saying...?" I quietly said. "I don't even know what my quirk is."

"But I do. I've seen that quirk before."

"...What?"

A relaxed smile appeared on his face. Reaching into his red blazer, he pulled out a syringe. It was full of orange liquid. I stared at him cautiously. Seeing my tensed reaction, he spun the syringe in his fingers playfully.

"Hm. Seems like you recognize this," he remarked. "I would think so. You were present at the attack nearly two weeks ago, after all."

My eyes nervously scanned my surroundings. We were at the edge of the neighborhood. There were a few houses but they were a distance away. Maybe if I yell really loud, they'll hear me. But again, no one came out when Bakugo and I got into a fight. My phone wasn't in my pockets since Bakugo threw it on the floor but even if he didn't, I doubt that I could call the police in time.

What am I supposed to do? I need to get away from him.

"I can you where your quirk came from," he suddenly said.

Hearing that, my eyes snapped onto him.

"I can tell you everything about it," he spoke. "But before I do..."

His deep, gray eyes froze me in place. I felt the intense aura get stronger. He held out the syringe to me.

"You have to inject him with this."

Hearing that, Bakugo immediately piped up. He began to wriggle in his grasp. That only caused him to get socked again. Kiyoshi sighed tiredly.

"I respect your spirit, kid, but it's getting a bit old."

His steely eyes peering to me, he waited for me to take the syringe.

"Why... Why should I do it?" I asked.

"Isn't it simple?" he replied. "You want to obtain something that I have information about. Don't you want to know the truth about your quirk? And once you do find out what it is, I can show you how to use it. How to master it. Then... I'll help you take revenge on all those people who have wronged you."

_"What? Are you gonna cry? Your big brother isn't coming! If you tell him about this, I'll beat him until he can't move any more! I smash his face in!"_

_"You're a nosy, little, rat that's always gettin' into my fuckin' business."_

That's right. I've been a victim my whole life whether it was to bullies or villains. I'm tired of being useless. I'm tired of pretending. I want to fight back.

**I've had enough.**

I began to reach over toward the syringe. I grabbed it from his hands.

"You damn bastard!" Bakugo exclaimed angrily.

A satisfied smile spread across Kiyoshi's lips. I gazed over at Bakugo in disdain.

**I don't want to see your face ever again.**

Kiyoshi held him down as Bakugo struggled to escape. As the needle began to inch near his neck, the events from our detention ago flashed in my head. The image of his trembling foot. His body tipping over toward the edge. My hands stretching out and clutching his back.

Why did I catch him..?

"Get your damn hands off of me!" Bakugo screeched.

Why didn't let him go?

"I swear to God! I'll kill you!"

**Why did I save him?**

Bakugo stared at me with eyes full of frustration, anger, and...

** I can't do this. **

And just as quickly as I grabbed him that day, just as quickly I realized how wrong it was, I swerved the needle away from his neck and stabbed it into Kiyoshi's arm.


	18. Stimulate

The tip of the needle dug into Kiyoshi's arm. But as it did, a barrier of white bone appeared. Immediately upon making an impact, the needle chipped in half. At the same time, an explosion erupted from Bakugo's palms. A cloud of smoke blew in my face as everything around me turned gray. I stuffed the syringe into my sweatshirt pocket, and I felt someone's hands shove me out of the smokescreen. As the air cleared, I saw that Kiyoshi was standing over Bakugo who was lying down on the cement. He was hunched over clutching his stomach gasping for air.

"I thought I told you to stop," Kiyoshi said. His right arm was covered in bone. It looked ragged and sharp covering his entire fist up to his elbow.

"Fuck...you, old man..." the blonde rasped.

His shoe goes flying into his right lower abdomen. Then turning to look at me, I stiffened. The expression he wore sent chills down my spine. He was angry; very angry. Yet, he still wore a calm look on his face. It was unsettling.

"Why didn't you do it?" he asked, walking over. On his right arm, I can see a small blotch of orange liquid trickling off.

"Leave us alone," I pathetically demanded. I gave him a long, hard, glare. Seeing my disapproval, the corner of his lip curled up.

"You look like your father when you give me that expression. I guess you're Ryu's kid after all," he reminisced. "Don't worry, I'll let your little friend go. But under one condition..."

I didn't think it was possible, but his presence intensified. I began to break into a sweat and my throat went dry. Nevertheless, I did my best to plaster on a stoic face.

"You have to come with me."

This guy is using the oldest trick in the book. He's using the same tactic the villain did back at the festival; he's promising that he'll let Bakugo go if I go with him. It's so cliche but it works too well. I know that the minute I go with him, the minute he's going to grab Bakugo and haul us away.

My eyes darted over to Bakugo who was still on the ground. He was in pain. Just a few minutes earlier, I would've felt happy if I saw him like that. But now... It doesn't matter how I feel about him right now; I need to get the two of us away. But how?

A couple of feet away from Bakugo was the figure of my phone. The screen was off. It must've shut off while Bakugo and I had our fight. If I turn it on then my messages with Todoroki will automatically pop up on the screen.

* * *

_【 __ᴅɪᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇᴇᴛ ᴜᴘ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʏᴏᴜ? ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ? 】_

* * *

My phone has an emergency option. After the festival, Hiro suggested buying a phone with one since I get caught up in so many villain attacks. All I have to do it press the icon near Todoroki's name and it'll send him an emergency text with my current location. It'll be quicker than calling the police.

Can I do it in time, though? This Kiyoshi guy is fast. I could reach the phone first, but there's no way I was going to be able to send the emergency text in time. I could try evading his attacks for a bit but I don't know how long I'll last either.

Although Bakugo was hunched over covered in sweat, I could tell he was infuriated. He wanted to fight back. He was inching his way toward my phone possibly having the same idea of calling for help. There was smoke practically rising out of his ears...and his hands. The image of the blonde zooming toward me with his blasts replayed in my head.

I'm going to need Bakugo's help if we're going to get help in time. He's gonna have to be the one to send the text. I need a chance to tell him, somehow...

My heart pounded as I looked back at Kiyoshi.

"...Okay. I'll come with you," I said to him. "Just... Don't do anything to him."

I eyed Bakugo. I could see that the smoke around his palms was accumulating.

"Of course," Kiyoshi agreed. He reached over to grab me when I tried to punch him. He easily swiped my hand away.

"What do you think you're doing?" he said in a low voice.

I kicked him in the crotch as hard as I could. Letting out a grunt, he gripped my arm as I struggled to escape. I stepped on his shoe.

"I wanted this to be easy, but I guess that's out of the picture," he growled. The grip on my arm got tighter. It hurt.

Glancing over to Bakugo, I saw that he was getting up now.

"Send the emergency text!" I exclaimed.

On cue, his body goes surging forward with a blast. Meanwhile, I jerked my body back. I reached into my pocket and slammed it into the cement now that I was close enough. Turning back, I threw the broken remains of the syringe into Kiyoshi's face. Glass shards grazed his face. His eyes were filled with anger. His strong arms shoved me away. He began to make his way over to Bakugo.

Luckily I didn't set up a password yet or else this whole plan would've been toast from the start. Easily unlocking my phone, Bakugo hurriedly searched for the emergency icon. Kiyoshi sprinted over to him. I knew that there was no way I was going to be able to catch up in time but nevertheless, I ran.

"You damn brats," Kiyoshi rasped as he reached Bakugo. He was about to hit him when I clenched my fist. His fist zips up over his head. Jumping up, I wrapped my hands over his arm and pulled him. He stumbled back. Hopefully, that split distraction gave time for Bakugo to send the text.

"Did you get it-"

I felt Kiyoshi's elbow slam into my gut. The air was knocked out of me making me let go of his arm. Kiyoshi stole the phone from Bakugo's fingertips and threw it on the cement. He crushed it with his foot. My heart sunk.

Oh no.

Then grabbing Bakugo, he effortlessly lifted him off the ground. He threw him against the wall. His fingers wrapped around my hoodie pulling me up to my feet.

"And just like your father, you're a troublemaker too," he hissed, as I tried to pry him off. "No one's coming to save you now so there's no use in struggling. It'll only make things worse."

He punched me in the gut again but with his bone arm. Upon making an impact, it felt like my lungs collapsed. It hurt so much. I began to cough uncontrollably. Not to mention, my head was pounding like crazy. I wanted to throw up. My limbs were limp and felt like fire.

"Are...you sure about that?" I heard Bakugo rasp.

He turned to him. Bakugo was sitting against the wall. He looked like crap, but there was a grin plastered on his face.

"B-Bakugo... You..." I started.

Kiyoshi marched over to him. He was infuriated. My heart began to pounder even faster upon seeing that he was going to hit Bakugo again...for the last time.

"I was going to take you with me alive but I doubt you'll cooperate. It'll be such a waste though. Your quirk is amazing," Kiyoshi said stopping in front of the blonde. He cracked his knuckles. "It'll have to do. We'll just turn you into a mindless beast."

"No... Stop..." I weakly begged, breaking into a sprint.

Bakugo's crimson eyes peered over to me. The look he gave me sent chills running down my back. It was already bad seeing it on Dad's face, but seeing it on his face made it even worse. I made my blood run cold. It was horrible.

**No more. Please.**

"Goodbye, kid," Kiyoshi said. He raised his fist at Bakugo's face.

**Stop.**

The tingling in my fingers exploded. I felt a surge of energy zap out them. Kiyoshi's body flew back, slamming against the ground. The collision was so strong that his body created a dent in the cement.

Immediately, I lost balance and collapsed. My entire body was on fire. I couldn't move anymore. I watched as Kiyoshi staggered up from the ground and approached me. I felt fingers wrap around my throat, and I was lifted off the ground.

"What an extraordinary quirk. To think that you're able to use that move at your age..." he said. A threatening smile appeared on his face. "You might grow up to be even stronger than her."

I struggled for air as the world began to spin. It was getting darker and colder. My throat was ready to burst open. Tears stung my eyes.

I guess this is it. I'm going to die. At least I saved him. I saved someone.

Just as my eyes were about to close, Kiyoshi's fingers let go of my throat. I dropped down gasping for air. My vision was blocked by tears. Even with blurry eyes, I knew who saved me.

"My old friend. It's so great to see you," Kiyoshi grimaced.

Peering up from the floor, I saw two figures standing in front of Kiyoshi. Their violet eyes glowed in the darkness. There was a woman wearing all-black. She wore a mask over her nose and mouth. Besides her was a solemn man with graying, brown hair. In his hands was a bat.

"Get the fuck away from my daughter," Dad spoke.

The last thing I saw before fainting was Dad's bat smashing into Kiyoshi's face.

»»—- —-««

The edge of the bat dripped with crimson liquid, but that wasn't the only thing dripping. Blood trickled down Kiyoshi's nose. He watched as it splattered onto the gray cement.

He could've easily dodged that but he was too enthralled by the infuriated eyes his old friend gave him. They looked the same as they did thirty years ago. It really brought Kiyoshi back to the old days when the two of them owned the streets.

It was a wonderful time.

"Wow. It seems like you can still pack a hit with that old bat. I can't believe you kept it after all these years," Kiyoshi remarked, unaffected by the hit.

Meanwhile, Ryusaki tightened his grip on the metal handle. He inspected the harsh lines and dents created through many fights and battles. He can recall the blunt sound it made when it bashed his opponent's skull to the ground. He can smell the metallic scent of blood that often times stained his bat.

That's right. The bat was his number one choice of weapon, wasn't it? He wasn't sure why he kept this old thing when he left Venom's Bane. He couldn't find it in himself to toss it, so it's degraded to an emergency weapon if a burglar should ever try to get their grimy fingers on his hard-earned luxuries.

"What are you doing here? Didn't I say to stay away from me?" Ryusaki coldly said to his old companion.

"You really have changed, haven't you, Ryu? Your manner of speech is much more formal. But why the frown?" Kiyoshi casually said, reaching into his blazer. Immediately seeing so, the two of them went on guard. They would've attacked if Kiyoshi hadn't pulled out the handkerchief in time.

"Calm yourselves. There is no need for violence," he remarked. He dabbed the blood off his nose. Ryusaki scoffed at him.

"Violence? Then what the hell do you call this shitshow?"

Ah, yes. He must be referring to the blonde boy and his daughter. Well, it wasn't his fault he had to hurt them. They retaliated so he had to discipline them.

They didn't seem to accept his answer and his friend went to hit him again. This time, Kiyoshi dodged it. He went in for his gut when his hand gets pulled back. He felt the metal bat smack his face. He was prepared this time, though. He resisted the impact by creating a layer of bone on his cheek. As he did, Corvade sends her baton flying down at him. Lifting his right arm up, he blocked it with his arm. Corvade's padded knee propels up at his chin. Before impact, Kiyoshi gracefully jumps back.

"Ha? You running away, Kiyoshi?!" Ryusaki exclaims, running to attack.

He misses as Kiyoshi dodges. He elbows him in the back, but his figure disappears. A nail flew midair where he was at. Zipping around, Kiyoshi blocks Ryusaki's blow with both of his arms. He can feel his entire body vibrate upon impact. Ryusaki may have been old, but he could still fight. But so could Kiyoshi.

With the swipe of his left leg, he kneed Ryusaki in the stomach. The wind was knocked out of him as he fell back. Kiyoshi didn't have time to rest because Corvade swings her baton at his neck. Leaning back, Kiyoshi barely dodges it as the wind grazes his nose. He immediately evades Ryusaki's next attack by stepping back. Lifting his armored arm, he lunges it toward him only for it to be pulled back again. Now that he was fully open in the front and in the back, he took it as a wise choice to jump away. He felt the potential force of impact that could've hit him with just the look imprinted in both of their eyes.

"This isn't how you treat an old friend," Kiyoshi calmly said.

"Shut the fuck up."

Kiyoshi chuckled.

"It seems like you still retained your fiery attitude, Ryu."

"Enough," Corvade demanded. "Get to the point. Why are you here?"

He gazed at the stoic vigilante who stood there with a long baton in her fingers. Her eyes remained the same purple hue it had always been but the gleam in them was different. The innocence and warmth that had always filled her eyes were gone. They looked cold and distant; the gaze she gave him could cut steel.

Kiyoshi sighed.

"Very well then. I shall tell you since Asuka-chan asked."

For a split second, her steely composure wavered. If anyone else were there, they wouldn't have noticed anything. However, Kiyoshi and Ryusaki could both tell.

Kiyoshi glanced at the blonde-haired boy who was leaning against the wall. The lights in his eyes had gone dull. He must've fallen unconscious at some point. It's a shame that Kiyoshi wouldn't be able to take him or the girl away. These two were dead set on protecting them. Not to mention, the police were likely well on their way.

However, he still had time.

"I came here to ask you a favor, Ryu," Kiyoshi started. "I was wondering if you wanted to team up again. You know, like the good old days."

Ryusaki immediately shot him down. "Are you stupid? Didn't I tell you already? I'm never going back."

"I know, I know, but hear me out, would you? I have information about Shimura Nana. The hero who killed your father."

A dark shadow casted on Ryusaki's face. A delighted gleam shimmered in Kiyoshi's gray eyes seeing attention flash in his friend's eyes.

"During your years of absence, I took the time to do research. It was quite hard. There was so little information despite the woman holding such immense strength," he said. "It took nearly thirty years of digging, bloodshed, and infiltrating, but I finally found the source of her power."

Ryusaki was silent. Sensing the hesitation, Kiyoshi continued.

"The quirk...is called One For All. I don't know too much about the fine details, but I know that the quirk has something to do with strength-enhancement; stockpiling power. That is the reason why she was able to defeat someone as powerful as your father. I find it almost baffling that she perished at the hands of a villain."

"She's...dead?" Ryusaki asked.

"Unfortunately. I suppose that means you can't take your revenge on her even if you wanted to, old friend. I can't either. All her family members are dead...or that is what's presumed," he spoke. "I can tell you more about that woman, and the secret of One For All. I'll tell you everything about this twisted world if you want. We can go back to the old days again. Together, we can track down her offspring and finally take revenge. All you have to do is abandon everything and come with me."

Kiyoshi stared at his friend who had gone old with time. He had aged considerably; the slicked back hairstyle he wore back then was now impossible to achieve now. His head was now receding to gray. Deep wrinkles were imprinted on his rough face and dark bags under his eyes.

"I don't care about that woman anymore. I've already decided to never walk down that path after I left Venom's Bane."

"Even after what she's done to your father? She ruined your life," Kiyoshi retorted.

"She didn't ruin it," Ryusaki replied, staring into his eyes. "I did. I was the one who decided to fall into despair. And so did you."

His eyes hardened. It struck a chord, and it showed.

"I know you loved him as a father. He loved you as a son," Corvade spoke. "But what happened cannot be changed. The actions of one cannot be blamed on another just because they share the same blood. What she did has nothing to do with whoever is related. You have to let it go."

Resent on Kiyoshi's face deepened. He was itching to smack that hideous mask off her face. How could she, someone who was actually blood-related to him, not be affected at all? One thing that hasn't changed was the fact that she still retained that graciously annoying hero act of her. It boiled his blood.

The sounds of police sirens began to blare nearby. Red and blue lights illuminated the darkness. Seeing that, it was his cue to leave.

"It doesn't matter. Your minds are made up. It's a shame," Kiyoshi said, shaking his head in disappointment. "But before I leave, I think this information I'm about to give you may make you dwell on my offer for quite a while."

"Enough talk!" Ryusaki cried, charging at him.

He hit him with his metal bat. Kiyoshi blocked it with his bone-covered arm. Then grabbing a fistful of nails from his pocket, Ryusaki threw them in the air. With astonishing speed, he began to zip around the red-clothed man trading places with each nail. As Kiyoshi tried to track him, Corvade joined.

Her sturdy baton hit him right in the gut. He did have to admit, it did hurt. But again, she was practically a hero so of course, she knew how to fight.

"It's over, Kiyoshi!" Ryusaki exclaimed from behind.

Turning behind, Ryusaki prepared himself to land a blow. To his dismay, Kiyoshi throws down a smokescreen. Amidst the smoke, Kiyoshi let out a sigh.

I guess he can't tell his old friend about that anymore. Oh well, it'll make the reveal much more entertaining.

"Goodbye, my old friend," Kiyoshi departed, as his body began to turn into smoke. "The next time we meet will be our last."

And as quickly as he arrived, he disappeared into the night.

Frustration was imprinted on the brunette's face as he slammed his bat on the cement. He was angry that he couldn't give him the good beating he deserved for touching his daughter. And speaking of her...

Dropping his bat, he scurried over to the unconscious teen. Wrapping his arms around her, he inspected Rin for any injuries.

"Damn... That bastard hurt you more than I thought..." he cursed, upon seeing the bruises that were beginning to form on her cheeks.

Meanwhile, Corvade went to check out the blonde boy. He took quite a beating. His hair was a mess. Several purple specks were on him. He was slumped up against the wall with his head hanging low. His palms were stained with cinder. Even so, it looked like he was going to be okay.

Corvade stood up and turned to the disgruntled man who was muttering to himself in distress. Sauntering over to him, she said, "The blonde boy bears injuries, but none of them are fatal. He is fine."

"I don't appreciate being interrupted when guests are over," he remarked. "But I suppose today is an exception. How did you know about this, anyway?"

"I have my ways. Let's just say that I've been trying to track down the leader of Crimson Eclipse for a while," she replied. "I don't remember you calling the police."

"Because I didn't. Rin or that kid must've called."

Clicking her earpiece, she informed Blackjack that she wouldn't be needing his help anymore. As she began to walk off, a nail appeared midair in front. In a flash, Ryusaki landed in front of her blocking her departure.

"You're not even going to inform the police about Kiyoshi?" he asked bitterly.

Nudging him aside, Corvade continued walking down the street.

"There's no need for both the witnesses to relay the information to the authorities. Besides, it's getting late. You wouldn't want your imouto-chan to get mugged, would you?"

Reaching into her black coat, she pulled out a rectangular device. A metal wire spurred out of the end. Latching onto the nearby light post, she launched away leaving the displeased man behind.

»»—- —-««

Why didn't we have dinner at his house instead of mine?

I stared at the metal sign that read _Bakugo. _Behind the cement fence, was a beautiful home. Huge, glass windows adorned the tan, brick walls. The green shingles contrasted nicely with the muted colors of the siding. It looked way more modern and bigger than my house. From the looks of it, the property was a good size too. His family must get by well.

I grasped the stack of homework in my hands as I stiffly approached the front door.

Why am I the errand girl for the teachers too? Couldn't they have asked Midoriya to deliver the homework?

"Well, now that I think about it..." I mumbled to myself.

Didn't they ask him to do it but because he was busy, he begged me to do it for him instead? Bakugo got hurt more than I did and had to miss school. Meanwhile, Dad only let me skip school for a day. As much as I didn't want to deliver homework to him, I found it a good opportunity to apologize to Bakugo for what happened a few days ago.

Supposedly, I was knocked out cold when the police arrived. Bakugo was too. As expected, both our parents freaked out. Mom said that a boy with white and red hair came along too. He was the one who called for help. One of these days, I really should repay Todoroki back for that.

The police weren't able to track down Kiyoshi. According to my dad, he disappeared.

Wait, Dad never told me how he knew that Bakugo and I were in trouble. How did he know? And why was he with Corvade?

That's not important, right now. I have more pressing matters.

Peering over at the doorbell, I mentally prepared myself to press it.

On second thought, I don't think I can give it to him. I'll probably screw it up. I really hope that his mom or dad answers the door instead...

Taking a deep breath, I gently pressed my finger against the button.

_Ding, dong!_

I waited for a few seconds. I got nothing, so I tried ringing it a second time.

_Ding, dong!_

Nothing again.

"I guess that means I have to leave the homework here..." I concluded. I got low to the ground to place it when I heard footsteps rumbled toward the front door. The door burst opened just as I zipped up.

Standing in the doorway was Bakugo. He wore a black tank top with black sweats. His arm and face were covered in white bandaid patches, probably to soothe the bruises he received from Kiyoshi. His red eyes flickered to me immediately. He seemed a bit taken aback seeing me stand at his doorway, but his expression quickly turned into a disgusted look with a tinge of uneasiness to it.

Realizing that I was standing there like an idiot, I awkwardly cleared my throat.

"Uh... This is the schoolwork you missed while you were gone... Watanabe-sensei wanted me to deliver it to you."

I held out the packet to him. He roughly grabbed the paper out of my hands. He went to close the door when I stuck my arm through. It slammed against my arm. It kind of hurt.

"W-wait," I spoke.

Slowly creaking the door back open, Bakugo eyed me suspiciously. I sighed.

Where do I even begin?

"...About what happened that night..."

"What? You up for round 2?" Bakugo said with a tight-lipped grin. He began to remove the bandage on his cheek when I blurted,

"No! That's not it!"

He stopped upon seeing my sudden outburst. Biting my lip, I tried my best to regain my composure.

Alright, you can do it Rin. Just say those two words.

"I'm..." I started when Bakugo slams the door in my face. I began to hear his footsteps walk away, and I called out to him.

"W-wait. Bakugo!" I said. "I need to tell you something."

"Screw off, Coconut head!" he shouted.

"It's really important-"

"I don't care!"

"Just listen to me-"

"I told you to fuck off!"

Forget it. There's no way he's listening. I did screw it up. I always do. But even as much as I wanted to leave, my body wouldn't budge. There was something inside of me refusing me to move.

"Bakugo... I know that you probably want to blast me into oblivion right now but..." I began. "I need to apologize for what...I said to you. I...um...I shouldn't have said that; That Midoriya shouldn't have saved you. I really regret it. That was a terrible thing to say, and..."

I felt my throat tighten up. I wanted to run away. He probably wasn't even listening. But I can't. Not now.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for saying that and for hitting you. And for getting the two of us into danger. I'm the reason why you got hurt. You should've stayed behind at home while I took the trash out," I quietly said. "But most of all... I'm sorry for almost stabbing that syringe into your arm... I was about to do it. I really was. But that look you gave me..."

Chills ran down my arms recalling the fear in his eyes.

"I-I just...couldn't do it. In a way, I have to thank you for snapping me back into my senses. Now that I think about it... You're the reason why I didn't get as hurt as much. Um, I mean, I did get a couple of bruises but it's nothing compared to you."

Rin, you're going off track.

I let out a sigh. I gripped the strings to my backpack.

"You...were right. I don't know anything about being a hero. In fact, I'm probably more of a villain," I confessed. "...I don't like you, Bakugo. But even so, thank you for pushing me out of the way again and for never giving up. You fought back without hesitation."

Removing my backpack, I reached inside to grab it. Placing it in front of the doorway, I said,

"You know... I always thought of you as the human equivalent of rat poison, but I think you'll make for a strong hero."

»»—- —-««

Bakugo waited a few minutes until he was sure Rin had left. Then opening the front door, he saw that she had left something for him. It was a small, rectangular box the size of a tv remote. The covering was light blue with white polka dots. There was a tiny bow on the top right corner. Bringing the mystery gift inside, he shook the box. It sounded like there were round objects inside.

Bakugo roughly tore the top off. Opening the top revealed the contents inside. There were tiny, spherical orbs of multicolored hard candy.

"Who does she think I am? Some sort of kid?" he gruffed. "So damn annoying..."

As Bakugo carelessly tossed the candy onto the kitchen counter, he thought back to her words that he listened to the entire time.

_It's pretty fucking obvious that you don't like me, but you decided not to listen to him. You didn't use the syringe. You even used your quirk to stop that anemic bone bastard from smashing my face._

His red eyes gazed at the little gift on the counter.

_I don't like you, Onishi. _

Slamming his fist on the granite in frustration, a small explosion erupted from his hand.

"Damn Coconut head... She really had to make me feel a tinge of gratitude for saving me, didn't she?"


	19. Date, Start!

"Why didn't you cancel the date? You should've said you were sick," Hiro's voice blared from the phone as I walked to the Wren Inc building.

"Well, it's a little too late now," I retorted. "I'm already almost at the meetup place."

"I knew I should've come home today! That way, maybe I could've found a way to convince Mom to not let you go. You don't even know who you're meeting up with. What if it's someone dangerous? How am I supposed to-"

"Uh, I think you're overreacting a bit," I interrupted. "It's Mrs. Wren's nephew that we're talking about. I mean, I've never seen him but I'm sure she wouldn't set me up with someone weird."

At least, I think. She's kind of odd but that doesn't necessarily mean her nephew is gonna be like that. Even if he is, I'm used to it. I'm always surrounded by weird people.

This whole ordeal wouldn't have happened if I didn't go to the post office with Dad. Mrs. Wren decided to swing by to visit my humble adobe. When Mom answered the door, Mrs. Wren proposed that I should go on a date with her nephew, and in return, she'll give Mom a $1000 gift card to her favorite sushi restaurant. There was no way she would've known about that, except if Mom was thinking about sushi and she read her mind. Since neither Dad or I were home to object, Mom happily agreed. Not gonna lie, it kind of hurts that my own mother got bribed by a gift card to send her daughter on a blind date.

Hiro was still rambling on about how this date was a bad idea as if I didn't agree with it. Peering at the giant billboard screen on a building, I saw that it was almost time for the date. Seeing that, I told Hiro that I had to go.

"If anything bad happens, call me. Your big brother will come to save-"

I hung up on him before he can get his last word out and turned my phone on silent. Taking only a few steps forward and turning the corner, I saw a tall boy waiting by the entrance of Wren Inc. At a distance, I saw that he had raven-colored hair that almost looked blue. He wore a navy blue button-up shirt with rolled-up sleeves. He wore warm gray pants and casual loafers. He was muttering to himself as his glasses glinted in the sun.

I zipped back behind the corner. Switching to my camera, I inspected myself.

I didn't realize until today when Tsuyu helped me get ready for the date, but my hair had grown longer. The edges of my curled hair were a mid-neck length. I wore a red headband with a bow that I borrowed from Tsuyu. She also helped me put on some makeup too. My lashes were much more noticeable now. My pale cheeks finally had some color to them with a tint of pink blush. Clear lip gloss was applied to my lips.

Checking myself in the camera, I retucked my pastel-pink shirt into my white, chiffon skirt. I puffed the collars of my shirt. Then smoothing out a few strands of hair, I stuffed my phone into the small shoulder bag. Clasping it shut with the sakura clasp, I took a deep breath. I approached my date gripping the leather strap of my bag.

Okay, Rin. It's just for two hours. You can do this. You've been through worse.

Now that he was up close, I realized how mature he looked. Not to mention, that he looked even taller upfront. He must've been in high school already.

"Hello! You must be the girl my aunt was speaking about. Allow me to introduce myself: I am Iida Tenya!" he said, moving his hand around in a rapid motion. Arching his back exactly 90 degrees, he bowed to me. "It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance! Although I may not have much experience with dates, I will with the best of my abilities to make this outing a success!"

People around us began to stare. I grew a bit hot, so I quickly bowed back to him.

"U-uh, same... It's good to meet you, er, Iida-kun. My name is Onishi Rin."

"I see," he mumbled, rubbing his chin. He inspected my face for a moment. Then gesturing to me with a stiff hand, he said,

"I noticed that you are wearing cosmetics. Particularly, mascara, lip gloss, and rouge. The rouge on your cheeks adds color to your complexion thus maximizing your appearance. A clever and stunning idea!"

"Uh... Thanks..." I weakly replied.

Don't be awkward.

"And, um... Your glasses... Look very cool and square."

I'm being awkward.

However, Iida took my improvised compliment wholeheartedly. Moving his hands around oddly, he thanked me saying, "Yes! My glasses are very squared to help me see clearly". After that, he had some suggestions on what to do. He brainstormed an entire list of possible events and activities to do on the date. He was actually serious about this entire thing. Seeing his enthusiasm made me feel a bit bad for not feeling similarly. In the end, we settled on three activities: Going to the cafe, taking a walk in the park, and going rowing on the lake.

"Here is your table. Your waiter will be with you shortly," the cafe employee said to us, beckoning to our seats.

Iida gave her a keen "thank you", and I sat down. Before I did, he quickly zipped behind me and pulled out the chair. Giving him an awkward "thank you", I sat down. Picking up the menu, I inspected all my options.

The chocolate cake looks good, but I can just get that at any grocery store. Maybe I should get the white chocolate french toast. Or tiramisu. But I also want a sundae.

"What do you think of ordering, Onishi-san?" Iida asked me.

"I'm not sure. I was thinking of getting the white chocolate french toast, but a sundae would be nice. Everything on the menu looks good."

He nodded his head in understanding. "Yes, I agree. Fortunately for me, I have been able to narrow down my choices. Shall I order a pumpkin roll or fluffy pancakes?"

I suggested fluffy pancakes. Heeding my answer, he suggested that I order white chocolate french toast. With that, we both settled on our drinks on our own. It wasn't long until our waiter came by to take our orders.

"Thank you for your service!" Iida proclaimed. "I shall order fluffy pancakes with expresso, please."

"Alrighty!" Static said, jotting in her notepad. "How about you?"

I cleared my throat and began to order when I stopped midway.

Wait a minute. Why's Static the waitress?

Peering back at her, she wore a big grin on her face. She was out of costume and wore a light blue cafe uniform. Her burgundy hair was messily tied into two pigtails, as always. That's when I noticed Mitsumu and Furutani sitting a few seats away from me in the window reflection. Although they tried to disguise themselves with Mitsumu wearing a colorful headband with thick glasses and Furutani having a crudely taped mustache, I knew that it was them.

How the heck did they know about this date? Mitsumu probably stalked me again...

"White chocolate french toast and?" Static innocently said, breaking me from my thoughts.

"Er, and iced coffee."

After repeating our orders aloud to us, she left but not before giving me a mischievous wink. Luckily Iida didn't notice.

"Since we are on a date, I think it is sensible that we get to know each other," Iida suggested. Pulling out a slip of paper from his pockets, he said, "First question: Names. Well, we already know each other names, so let's move onto the next question... Question 2: Age. I am currently 15 years old and a 3rd year in junior high. My birthday is on the 22nd of August."

He answered like...three questions. But it's reassuring to know that he's the same age as me even if he looks like a highschooler.

"I'm 15, and I'm also a 3rd year in junior high. Um, my birthday is on the 3rd of September," I replied.

"We have two things in common! That's great," he remarked, moving his hands rapidly. "Question 3: Siblings. I have one elder brother named Tensei who is my senior by 14 years. He's a hero."

"A hero? What's his hero name?"

A delighted look overcame his face. Folding his arms proudly, he said, "The Turbo Hero: Ingenium."

Didn't he save me during that time I accidentally infiltrated the Crimson Eclipse hideout?

"Oh, Ingenium. I know him. He saved me once. He's really strong. He was able to effortlessly transport me to safety holding me while out running and defending from villains," I said, trying to make my voice sound as sincere as I felt. It turns out it worked because the light in his eyes brightened upon hearing my praise.

"I see! As expected from Tensei. He is strong, after all. I'm glad that my elder brother could be in service," he boasted. He quickly apologized to me saying that he was getting too full of himself. I brushed it off and told him he had the right to be proud; Ingenium was a Pro Hero after all.

"Ahem. But enough about me. Do you have any siblings, Onishi-san?"

"I have an older brother too, though, he's only older by about 6 years," I replied. "His name is Hiro. He's trying to become a hero, too. He's not popular yet. He's only been working on minor cases in Murato City."

"Big cases or not, a hero's work is good work," he remarked.

"Yeah, I guess. It's a lot of effort, though. When I talk to him over the phone, he sounds exhausted lately. Hero work must be hard, even if its minor cases he's dealing with," I said. Gazing out the glass window, I watched a sharkman get out of his red car and began gesturing at a nearby pedestrian.

"He tells me to not worry about him when he's the one always worrying about me. I feel like he forgets to take care of himself, so that's why I make sure to call or text him every so often to make sure he's doing okay."

Iida stared at me for a moment. Then doing another one of his odd hand gestures, he said, "Your brother sounds like a compassionate and good-natured person. I am sure that he'll become a great hero, one day."

"Yeah..."

My features softened and I peered out the window again. I stopped upon seeing the sharkman effortlessly lift up the guy he was arguing with. With the thrust of his hand, he threw the guy directly at us. I don't know how strong this glass is but if that shark dude was able to pick up and throw a full-grown man easily from that distance, I don't think the window is gonna hold.

"Iida-kun-" I warned jumping from my seat.

The random passerby goes crashing through the window. I shut my eyes and covered my face. Customers around us screamed as glass shattered over Iida and me. Our table crashed onto the floor. After a few seconds, I peeked at the guy who was on the ground. There was a purple blob beginning to form near his right eye. His broken glasses were lying a few inches away from his scalp.

"Onishi-san, are you hurt?" Iida asked me, coming to my side in a flash. He began to keenly inspect me from all over for any cuts.

"U-um, I'm fine," I uncomfortably said. Luckily, my instincts kicked in, or else I would've been covered in glass shards.

"I smell a villain!" I heard Static remarked from the left. She was wearing her hero costume now. How fast she was able to change, I don't know. Then gracefully jumping over the unconscious man, the tipped over table, and out the window, she sprinted toward the sharkman who rushed into his car while yelling, "Good luck on your date, Riny!"

The red car skid down the road with Static holding onto the roof of it. They disappeared.

"That's good a hero came. That villain needs to be brought to justice," Iida remarked. "Also, why did she refer to you as "Riny"? Do you know her?"

"Nope. I have no idea who she is."

The guy who got thrown into the cafe was knocked out. He was taken to the hospital. Since the cafe got raided, they had to halt all incoming orders, including ours, to let the police investigate. Since Iida and I had front row seats, they especially questioned us. I let Iida do most of the talking. Iida was pleased to inform them and described everything in detail.

"Our meal took a bit longer than expected. I am sincerely sorry," Iida said as we walked through the park. "Also, why didn't you let me pay for the entire meal? It is typically the duty of the male to pay the check on dates."

"It's fine. We both agreed on going to the cafe, right? It's only fair if we split the check," I simply replied.

Iida's eyes inspected me through his lenses for a moment. Then snapping his hand up oddly, he said, "We have approximately 1 hour and 3 minutes left of the date. Let's try to maximize our enjoyment with everything we got!"

He turned to a familiar blonde, who was the one in charge of the boating. "Excuse me, we would like a boat, please!"

He went to hand him the money but Mitsumu declined. "Aw, no need, my friend! I'll let you guys ride for free!" he chirped. Before Iida could protest, he practically shoved him into the boat. He marched over to me with a cheeky gleam.

"Heya, Rin-chan! I managed to collect some information about your date," he remarked, walking me over to the water.

"Um, why are you here-"

"He's 179 cm and weighs 82.2 kg. He attends Shibako Academy. His quirk is called Engine, which allows him to make incredible high-speed movements with the help of the engines on his calves. Nifty, right? Also, he's part of the famous Iida family who is known to be exceptional heroes! Actually, his big brother is Ingenium. Isn't that spectacular?"

"Uh..." I said, not sure if I should be awed, thankful, or creeped out. "No offense, but I don't really want to know those things."

"Silly me! You want to get straight to the point. I didn't know you were so prurient, Rin-chan. But again, you are a growing adolescent," he said, giggling mischievously. "What I'm about to tell you is based on observations, so they may or may not be true. He's probably around, let's see, 4 inches-"

"Okay, that's enough!" I exclaimed, my cheeks heating up. "I-I'm just gonna go and enjoy my boat ride now."

I quickly escaped from the giggling blonde. Iida noticed my colored face and asked me if I needed any sunscreen, as he would happily oblige to go purchase some. I declined. Then sitting down on the seat, I suggested to my date that we take off immediately. He mistook my desperation to get away from Mitsumu as enthusiasm because he took off in an instant.

I jerked forward as he speedily moved the oars in a blur. Other people in their rowboats rowed out of the way in a panic. We were going so fast that a wave of water was coming from the end of the boat. I had to hold onto dear life while trying not to puke.

"I-Iida-kun..." I groaned.

"Yes? Are you enjoying the pleasant and relaxing ride?" he asked, in a serious yet innocent tone. "I thought that going to a high-pace will make things more exciting."

"I-I think it's a bit...too exciting. Um, can you slow down, a bit?"

"Of course!"

Immediately, we skidded to a stop. The entire boat kept rocking back and forth not helping the bubbling sensation in my stomach one bit. Iida noticed my sick demeanor and asked me if I was okay.

"U-Uh... Y-yeah I'm...fine..." I stammered.

After recollecting my composure, Iida's _Get To Know Eachother_ _Questions _began again.

"Question 10: Favorite food," he said. "Without a doubt, it's beef stew. A delicious yet simple dish that fills you up!"

"Hm, that sounds good," I agreed. "My favorite food is tacos."

Iida raised an arched eyebrow at me. He rubbed his chin. "Tacos? I have never eaten one before."

"Really? Tacos are pretty good. The ones in America are even better than the ones here in Japan. When my family took a trip to California last year, we went to a Mexican restaurant that had the best tacos. Because of that, tacos have become my favorite dish," I said in content.

Realizing that I rambled, I began to feel a bit silly for enthusing about the Mexican dish. However, Iida didn't seem to mind. In fact, that made him interested in the dish and suggested that he should try one sometime.

"Question 12: _What are your goals for the future? _ That one is easy. I want to become a hero like my brother. I plan on taking the entrance exams for the prestigious U.A. High School next year."

"U.A? That's the hero school, right?" I remarked. "That sounds tough. Isn't it super hard to get into?"

"It's on the higher spectrum of difficulty, but it is not impossible to get into the Department of General Education," he replied, pushing his glasses. "However, I'm aiming for the Hero Course. That tends to be a very competitive field to get into since they are only two classes reserved for those in the Hero Course."

"Yeah, that sounds...tough."

"Perhaps, but I believe that I'm capable of getting in!" he remarked, moving his hands in an array of odd motions. Pointing to me with a hand, he said, "What do you plan on doing in the future?"

I had to think for a moment because I never thought about that. What is my future? What do I want in life? I don't have any goals or passions. Nothing is motivating me to move forward. I'm just here to exist.

I felt like Iida noticed that I was silently having an existential crisis because he told me it was okay if I didn't have an answer. He said that I still had my whole life ahead of me to find a goal.

I know, but... I'm kind of jealous that you have something that drives you, Iida-kun.

"Question 13: _What role would you play in a medieval fantasy? _Well, I would hope that I am the gallant knight that goes around protecting innocent civilians and battling against evil," he said. "How about you?"

If I'm being honest, I'll probably play the role of the damsel in distress. Telling him that, he rubbed his chin and nodded thoughtfully.

"I understand, Onishi-san. So, you think you'll be the princess trapped in the tower, then?"

"...I guess?"

He gestured to me with a stiff hand. "Why is that?"

Scratching my cheek with a tinge of shame, I said, "Well, you see, I'm always getting attacked by-"

Suddenly, the boat flipped over. Iida and I go falling into the water. It sounded like other people's boats flipped over too because I spotted people plunking under. I swore that I saw something swim by from the corner of my eye too. I ignored it, quickly treading back up.

"Are you okay, Onishi-san?" Iida asked.

Before I could answer, I felt something slimy wrap around my ankle. It jerked me underwater. I didn't get really far because Iida's fingers wrapped around my wrist and yanked me up. The mysterious creature and my spectacled companion played tug-of-war for a bit trying to outlast each other. Meanwhile, people were rushing back onto the docks screaming for the heroes.

"Let go already!" I heard the seaweed villain yell from underwater.

"Never!" Iida stubbornly responded. There was bumbling coming from his left calf. With a strong kick from his leg, he smashes his foot into the villain's face.

"My nose!" she exclaimed, as water splashed onto my face.

Iida quickly pulled me over to his side, angling himself like a shield. Seaweed zips towards his face only to be stopped by a string. In an instant, the seaweed villain gets pulled out of the water, her long hair trapped in a fishing lure. She screamed in pain as she gets dragged across the lake. Following the direction of the line, I was met with the figure of a familiar fisherman standing on a boat. In his hands was his iconic fishing rod.

"You again?" Masterbaiter said in exasperation. Launching his rod up, the villain flies out of the water and lands in his boat. His line expertly wraps around her body rendering her incapacitated.

"The first day back on the job, and the first one I'm saving is you," Masterbaiter sighed, getting back on the docks. The seaweed villain was apprehended by the police. "Kid, you really need to stop going out so much. You're walking magnet of trouble. I'm getting tired of saving your ass all the time."

Mitsumu laughed lightheartedly and told me not to take offense. It was Masterbaiter's way of worrying for me.

"Yes! We are grateful that you saved us! The way you handled that villain was superb!" Iida exclaimed, bowing down to him. "Though, I can't help but wonder, how do you know Onishi-san?"

Masterbaiter scoffed. "Let's just say that your little girlfriend has a habit of getting into trouble."

He walked by the perplexed boy. Stopping beside me, he bonked his fist on the top of my head. "What you did back at the festival, dragging me outta the way, was stupid. But the way you handled yourself wasn't bad. I have to admit, you got guts."

Since Iida and I were both soaking wet, we decided to spend the rest of our date sitting out in the sun. Finding a nice, empty, sunny area on the grass, we stood about trying to dry our clothes.

"Oh yeah. I forgot to thank you for helping me," I said, as I squeezed the remaining water from my skirt. "I'm not exactly sure how you were able to kick the villain so hard in the face, but-"

"Onishi-san," Iida spoke. I turned to him. He wore a discouraged look on his face. Then bowing down to me, he apologized for ruining the date.

"I know that I am not knowledgeable in the dating field, but I should've known that it wasn't going to be easy. I overestimated myself. This was not supposed to happen. Please forgive me, Onishi-san for ruining our date."

"You...don't need to apologize for anything. In fact, I should be the one saying sorry," I sighed. Iida peering at me, I said, "That question you asked me before the boat flipped over... I didn't get to finish what I said. Uh, you see, the reason why I thought that I'll be the damsel in distress is that I'm always getting attacked by villains. That's why I knew the hero who saved us and why he knows me. Actually, I've become a bit of a celebrity among the local heroes and police... If it weren't for my tendency to attract trouble, this date probably would've been very normal."

I tucked a piece of wet hair behind my ear. "So, yeah... I'm sorry that all your hard work went to waste."

The spectacled boy inspected me for a moment. Then, gesturing to me with his hand, he gave me a satisfied expression.

"Alright. How about we both agree that we're at fault?"

My stiff features relaxed. "Sure."

We began to chat as our clothes dried. The previous solemn air grew lighter. Soon enough, we both forgot about the whole ordeal.

"Question 20: _What subject in school do you dislike the most?" _Iida asked. "I find Painting class to be frustrating. I can never get the brush strokes correct, or the color is always off."

"History," I simply said.

"Hm, really? Why is that?"

I shrugged. "Er, for some reason, my mind goes blank the moment my teacher begins lecturing about anything from the past. I can never remember the correct dates... I'm even worse at remembering the names of places and people. I think I'm barely passing that class."

"I understand. Well, I happen to excel in that subject. I can assist you with your studies."

"Um... Are you sure?" I tensely said. "I'm...pretty bad."

"That is why I am here to help! I shall become your History tutor!"

Then pulling out our phones, we exchange numbers.

"Uh... Thanks."

"Yes! I will try my best to bring your grade up!" he proclaimed. He pointed at me with his hand. "Onishi-san, please answer this question honestly. Did my aunt bribe you to go on this date?"

I stiffened. Glancing away uncomfortably, I said, "Well, kind of. She bribed my mom, not me."

Hearing that, he started moving his hands around wildly.

"I had a feeling that's what happened! She suddenly told me that there was a nice girl who wanted to go on a date with me. I felt it was wrong to decline, so I agreed. My aunt can be a strange woman!" he exclaimed. Then settling down, he apologized on behalf of his relative. He explained to me that she's been curious about his love life lately and kept pestering him about girls.

"But I am simply not interested in that," Iida said, shaking his head. "My main goal is to become a hero like my brother."

I nodded understandably. It was relieving to know that we were both forced into this.

"Oh, it seems like our date has come to an end," Iida remarked, checking the time on his phone. Checking my phone, I saw that it read 2:04 pm.

We both stood up and began to make our way out of the park. Although he was going to head back to Wren inc and get picked up from there, he walked me to the subway station. I told him that I could just go alone, but he insisted.

"I think it will be odd if I didn't walk you there," Iida remarked, pointing at me with his hand.

"Er, I thought you were over this whole "perfect date" thing," I replied dryly. We stopped at the crosswalk.

"I am, Onishi-san. I was referring to the claim that you made about always getting yourself into trouble. If you were to get attacked on your way home, at least I may be there to assist you in some way. Besides, I've heard that there has been a string of related villain attacks occurring in that part of town."

The light turned and we walked across. Peering up at him, I asked what he meant.

"You have not heard, Onishi-san? There are red-clothed villains disturbing the peace lately. They've been making bizarre statements about quirk evolution and how society should cast out those with inferior quirks. It's begun since the Hero Festival incident from two weeks ago," he informed. "They're called-"

"Crimson Eclipse," I finished.

Iida noticed the look on my face and questioned me. I told him that I knew who he was speaking about, maybe a bit too well.

"Onishi-san, were you at the Hero Festival when it happened?"

"...Yeah. I was."

"So does that mean...?" he started, before shaking his head. "I apologize, I didn't mean to bring back bad memories."

We arrived at the subway station. Checking the clock, I saw that it was almost time for the train to arrive. Before leaving, I told him that I genuinely had a good time.

"Honestly, I thought this whole outing was gonna be a disaster. No offense, but I didn't want to come in the first place. But... it didn't turn out too bad."

Iida nodded. "That is understandable. I also enjoyed myself, as well, Onishi-san."

"So... Um... How about it?"

"About what?"

"Er, I mean..." I awkwardly said, scratching my cheek. "...Being friends."

His dark eyes stared at me for a moment. Then gesturing to me with another one of his weird hand gestures, he said, "That is a great idea!"

We both said goodbye to each other and went our separate ways. However, I only got a few steps in when a loud burst erupts from behind. I was nearly blown away from the impact, but I was able to keep myself on my feet. Thick fog filled the area as people around me panicked. A loud cackling came from within the smoke.

"How about we grab some runts, huh?!" a raspy voice said. A female scream followed thereafter, demanding the villain to let her go.

That was my cue to leave. But when I tried to move my legs, they felt like stones. It was so hard to move.

_ Ring, ring, ring!_

The sound of my phone suddenly blares from my bag. Pulling it out, I heard Iida's voice from the other line.

"Onishi-san? Where are you?"

"Uh, I'm not sure. The mist is too thick. It's hard to navigate, and hard to move. It's like the mist is weighing me down," I informed. "Are you okay?"

"That's a relief. Well, don't worry about me. You just go. I'll use my quirk to find and run out of-"

A loud crash erupted from his side of the line. I heard the sounds of another voice yelling along with what it sounded like the phone getting shaken.

"Uh... Iida-kun? Hello?" I asked. Realizing that the phone call ended, I tried calling him again.

_Ring, ring, ring..._

"Hello, you have reached Iida Tenya's phone! I am not here right now-"

I hung up, and I squeezed my fingers around my phone in frustration. Crap. He's not answering. So that means...

Swallowing dryly, I slowly put my phone away back in my bag. I wrapped my fingers around the leather strap so tightly that my knuckles turned white.

Iida's still inside. He saved me from being drowned by the villain back at the lake. It doesn't feel right to leave him here.

Chills ran up my back when a dark thought crossed my mind. What if... I end up being the last person he speaks to?

**I have to go find him.**

The next thing I know, I'm dashing through the fog, this time, in the opposite direction. Almost immediately, I felt the heavy atmosphere weigh me down. My knees buckled and I tripped forward. Luckily I was able to catch myself before eating the ground, but even standing upright was hard.

Crap, it's nearly impossible to walk through this mist!

"Iida! Can you hear me?!" I yelled as I staggered forward. Each step I took made me want to collapse, but I couldn't stop now.

There has to be some sort of way to get through this mist. Something needs to blow this away. Like a wind, or something to move it out of the way. But what am I gonna do? I can't do anything. I'm...

I glanced down at my hands which was beginning to feel tingling again.

No. I'm not. I can do this.

"...I think," I mumbled. It was the only choice I had.

I curled my hands into a fist. Doing so, I felt a strain press down on me. My muscles stiffened, and I was locked into place. I began to sweat. I noticed that there was an inch-wide gap between me and the fog. It looked like it was retracting away. I think it's working.

Huffing a breath of air, I clenched my fists tighter. The temperature began to wise. I felt sweat drip off my face as I watched the fog around me clear slowly. Then taking a step forward, I found that I was able to walk normally now.

Okay, that worked out better than expected, but my entire body is killing me. I need to hurry up and find Iida before I give out.

I ran through the fog calling out Iida's name. The strain on my muscles grew by the minute, and I was growing tired already. Not to mention, the annoying ringing in my ear.

Just keep going, Rin. You need to find him first.

Suddenly, a figure crashes into me. I get knocked down to the ground, and the fog surrounds me again.

"I did not see you there! I'm sorry-" my mysterious hitter said, before stopping. "Onishi-san?"

Peering up, I saw a tall boy with glasses standing over me. The relief was written on his sweat-stained face.

"You're...okay," I sighed. "I thought something bad happened to you."

Iida helped me up. He explained to me that he ran into some trouble with a Crimson Eclipse villain during the phone call, and had to hang up. Upon hearing that, I bit my lip in frustration. Them again? I guess he wasn't wrong about Crimson Eclipse attacks happening in this part of town.

We stopped upon hearing a huge blast blow ahead of us. A spiral of yellow energy shoots through the mist, effectively clearing the way.

"Thank you, Nejire Chan!" a male voice echoed.

Soon thereafter, Kamui Woods and Death Arms zip through the open space. Following them were two familiar vigilantes who speedily sprinted to the scene.

"I smell villains!" Static exclaimed. "Let's go, my trusty sidekick!"

"I'm not your sidekick!" her hooded companion retorted, hitting her with his fishing rod.

"Perfect timing! The heroes have arrived," Iida remarked.

"That's right! There's no need to fear because Strawberry Shades is here!"

Bursting through the fog was a hero wearing a strawberry mask. His tacky cape flowed behind him. His cat-eyed sunglasses glinted and a grin was plastered on his lips. Behind him was a tired-looking man with long, messy, black hair. He wore a long scarf.

Seeing the dorky strawberry hero make his appearance, I couldn't help but crack a smile.

"This girl again...?" Eraserhead muttered. He ordered Strawberry Shades to rescue us before running off. Strawberry Shades heeded his orders and jogged over to us.

"Oh, look! We meet once more!" Strawberry Shades happily exclaimed. Noticing my spectacled companion, he let out a gasp. "Could this be?!" he dramatically said. "Rin-chan, is this your new boyfriend Static was talking about?!"

The fog had cleared enough to fully see each other now. Because of that, I was able to see the tint of pink appear on Iida's cheeks. Waving his arms oddly, he explained to him that we were just friends.

"Yes, yes. Of course..." he replied. "Well, I think it's time to get you two outta here! Follow me!"

»»—- —-««

"Mitsumu, reporting for duty!" a happy blonde chirped. Pressing his earpiece, he informed Corvade that he was able to find the Crimson Eclipse villain who created the fog. By telling the Blackbird members, they were able to erase the fog with Eraserhead's help and arrest the villains.

An exasperated sigh was heard from Corvade. Then telling him to inform the others to come back to the hideout, she hung up.

Although there have been attacks carried out by the villain group, it didn't seem like there was a specific short-term goal they were trying to achieve. Sure, they wanted to create a society with strong quirks, but that wasn't going to happen immediately. Mitsumu couldn't help but wonder what they were trying to do. He was going to have to do more digging to find out.

"Ah... Maybe I should join..." Mitsumu thought aloud, tapping his chin.

"Huh? What was that?" a voice said. A young man with long, feathered, red wings fluttered down next to the blonde.

"Eh? You're not gonna even look at me?" Hawks asked, kneeling down next to him.

"Ahaha! I can see you perfectly fine, though!" Mitsumu nonchalantly replied. Turning to him, Mitsumu pointed at his pink sleeping mask that was over his eyes.

"Not anymore," he remarked smugly, removing his visors and blocking the reflective glass. "How'd you get up here, anyway? The last time I remembered, you can't fly."

"Nyhehe! That's top-secret!" Mitsumu replied, pressing his finger against his lips. Then pointing at him, he said, "And don't worry about me! I was talkin' about going undercover as a bad guy to get some information! I'm not turning bad here, Hawks-chan!"

"Oh, really now?"

"Yep! 100% telling the truth!"

"Well, I trust ya. I feel if you were to change sides now, that'll make things way too complicated for yourself. You seem like the type of guy to take things easy."

With the sway of his strong wings, he flew up leaving the blonde behind.

"Hmm... Joining Crimson Eclipse and becoming a bad guy does sound kinda fun..." Mitsumu pondered. "Heh! But being a part of Blackbird is even better!"


	20. Odd Future

"This is quite the predicament," a tall, crisp, gentleman vigilante said. "Do you mind explaining how this occurred?"

"Uh, you see, I got held hostage yesterday. You know, the usual... The villain held me up on top of a traffic light. He started spouting Crimson Eclipse's goal like the other guys when some heroes came. They ended up saving me but in the process, another one of the villain's buddies came and bailed him out."

"Can you tell me anything about the villains?"

"Um... Both villains were guys. The one holding me hostage... His quirk was vines. He had thorns all over him and a pointy nose. I only saw a glimpse of the other one's face."

Blackjack rubbed his chin thoughtfully. After a few seconds, he began writing in his notepad again. I sat there stiffly as I watched his hands move at laser speed.

Why do I feel like I'm getting interrogated?

"How about the heroes? Do you know who they were?"

"I've seen them before but I don't remember their names," I said. "There was a girl with blue hair and skin with some sort of bubble quirk. The guy who rescued me had the number 1000000 on his chest. His quirk was a bit, uh, weird though. I didn't really understand it..."

"Anything else you would like to mention?" he asked.

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot. When the two villains escaped, they blew some weird powder in my face," I replied. "It accidentally went up to my nose."

"Alright. I think this shall do for now," Blackjack said. Closing his black notepad, he placed it into his white blazer. "Onishi-san, I think I know how this may have happened."

But before he could tell me, a strawberry hero emerged from the living room. In his hands was a picture frame with a photo of six-year-old me on my first day at school.

"Look how cute you are in this picture! You were so tiny!" he exclaimed delightfully.

"Uh... How did you get inside my house?"

"I climbed through the window!"

I let out a sigh. I guess Furutani didn't even bother to stop him. Standing up from the dining table, I swiped the frame from his fingers and placed it back on the living room shelf.

"When did you cut your hair?" Strawberry Shades asked, inspecting me. "And your voice sounds a bit weird. Are you sick?"

"I see... So you haven't heard..." Furutani rasped from her dark corner. Wriggling her gray fingers as if she was casting a spell, she said, "Onishi-chan... Has been cursed!"

An alarmed expression overcame Strawberry Shades's face. "C-cursed?!"

Creeping toward us, she said, "Yes. Cursed. A dark hex has been cast upon her. Or should I say...him."

He raised his eyebrows in puzzlement as turned to me. Seeing that Furutani wasn't going to explain the situation, I sighed.

"Uh... You see... I think... Er, I got turned into a boy."

It was silent for a moment. He just stared at me through his cat-eyed sunglasses.

"...Eh?"

"It is true. Onishi-san has been struck with a drug that changed her gender," Blackjack said, walking into the living room.

"Wait, so does that mean...?" Strawberry Shades began. Leaning over to me, he asked, "D-did you use the bathroom yet?"

Oh god. Why did he have to bring that up? That was the scariest thing I've ever experienced, and that's coming from someone who's been a hostage a thousand times.

"...I don't wanna talk about it," I dully replied, looking away.

"Excuse me Onishi-san, but do you recognize this?" Blackjack spoke.

Turning to me, he pulled out his phone to show me a photo of an orange powder inside of a test tube. Seeing the recognization on my face, he said, "Just as I suspected. This was the substance that you inhaled, correct? Corvade-san and I have been investigating. Apparently, Crimson Eclipse managed to obtain it from an underground gang that distributes and creates drugs. The effects of the drug differ with each person it is used on. For one case, the drug caused one user to go into cardiac arrest."

"...Well, luckily that didn't uh, happen to me," I remarked.

"If you don't mind me asking, what is your blood type?" Blackjack questioned.

"O..."

"I see. I think I may have solved this case."

Pulling out his notepad from his blazer, he flipped it open to a bookmarked page.

"During our investigations, Corvade-san and I, along with Mitsumu-san, have created a theory. The effects of the substance correspond to the user's blood type," he started. "Those with the B blood type will go into cardiac arrest, A blood types will become temporarily blinded, AB blood types will activate their quirk immediately upon inhaling, and O blood types will switch their gender."

"...But why? It's...such a weird thing to happen," I muttered dryly.

"Yes, it is strange. Why did the drug turn you into a male? Perhaps when you inhaled it, it somehow altered your genetic code... I am going to investigate further," Blackjack remarked, pacing around the room. Stopping in front of me, he said, "Unfortunately, I am in need of your assistance, Onishi-san. Would that be okay?"

"Er... Y-yeah. That's fine."

"Hey! How about me?" Strawberry Shades piped. "I want to help!"

"That is not possible, Strawberry Shades-san. Corvade-san has given you specific orders to investigate the Crimson Eclipse incidents occurring in northwestern Musutafu with Furutani-san, did she not?" he cooly replied.

Strawberry Shades tried his best to convince the gentleman to let him come, but he was not fazed at all. As tears streamed down his face dramatically while he begged his comrade, Furutani wished me luck. She told me that if it doesn't work out, she can always try performing a ritual to revert me back to a girl. After that, Strawberry Shades sadly jumped out the open window he broke through in with Furutani following after.

"Why didn't they just use the front door...?" I muttered dully. Turning back to Blackjack, he said,

"Well, Onishi-san. We shall get started right away."

»»—- —-««

"I'm sorry, but Sir Nighteye isn't accepting any visitors right now," the woman at the front desk informed. "If you'd like, I can schedule an appointment with him. The next time he's available is on 29 September at 8 o'clock am."

"If you can, may you inform your superior that Blackjack is here to see him?"

"Er, I suppose but I am not sure that he'll be able to meet with you at this moment..."

As the front desk lady began to dial for her boss, I asked Blackjack what we were doing here.

"This is Nighteye Agency. As the name suggests, this building is run by the Pro-hero, Sir Nighteye," he explained. "Based on your observations of the heroes who rescued you, they match the appearances of heroes employed by Sir Nighteye. We are here to question them about the attack."

"Alright, I've informed Sir Nighteye about your visit," the lady spoke. "He is waiting for you on the 5th floor in his office."

That was quick. Do they know each other or something?

As we rode up the elevator to the 5th floor, I asked Blackjack some more questions about the powder I inhaled.

"So about me switching genders... I'm not gonna stay a guy forever, right?"

"Unfortunately, I cannot answer that question," Blackjack replied. "I do not know what happened to the other Crimson Eclipse members who turned to their opposite genders."

Well, that's reassuring.

I asked him how they were able to come up with their hypothesis. He told me that they took blood samples from incapacitated villains who were affected by the drug. By repeating the process several times, they were able to find a pattern. Stealing blood from fainted villains didn't sound very hero-like, to be honest. But again, they technically weren't heroes...

The elevator dinged, signaling that we reached the top. Blackjack walked down the hall as I trailed behind him. As we approached Sir Nighteye's office, we nearly bumped into a familiar blonde-haired highschooler who opened the door. He was wearing a school uniform.

"Whoops! Excuse me," he said, his apology full of energy.

His oval-shaped eyes flickered to me. Noticing my appearance, he asked me if we met. Before I could answer, a tall, lean man with glasses appeared behind the boy. He wore a plain office suit with a white polka-dotted tie. His hair was neatly combed to the left.

"Blackjack. You've arrived," the man spoke. "Come inside."

The boy got out of the way to let us pass. Upon entering the room, I immediately noticed the array of All Might merchandise. There were posters plastered on the gray walls along with a bookshelf of books on the number one hero. There was even a cardboard cut out of him posing while wearing his iconic grin.

"What is your business here?" the man questioned, sitting down at his desk.

"Sir Nighteye-san, we are in need of your assistance. An innocent young girl named Onishi Rin has been affected by one of Crimson Eclipse's drugs," Blackjack began. The man, aka Sir Nighteye, flickered his yellow eyes over to me. Seeing that I totally wasn't a girl, he said,

"So I am assuming that the conclusions you and Corvade drew are true. But why do you need my help?"

"You see, Sir Nighteye-san, two of your subordinates were present during the scene when Onishi-san was held, hostage. We are here to question them about the villains who carried the attack. By doing so, we may be able to track them down and find a way to revert Onishi-san back to a female."

The blonde boy behind us spoke in surprise, "That's why you looked familiar! You were the girl that I rescued yesterday."

Hearing that, Sir Nighteye said, "So Mirio was there. Who is the other?"

That was my cue to speak. Stepping up, I said, "There was a girl with a bubble quirk."

"Oh! You must be talking about Bubble Girl," Mirio, the blonde boy, remarked. "She should be getting back from her patrol right about now."

I felt a bit more relieved upon hearing that. I don't know how long I'm gonna be stuck like this, but at least we were getting progress.

"Mirio. Onishi-san. Can you two wait outside the office for a moment?" Sir Nighteye said. Hearing that, I walked out with the cheery boy.

Finding a spot to sit which was beside a glass window that overlooked the outside, we sat down. Mirio asked me if I was in junior high, and I told him that I was a 9th grader. Hearing that, he said,

"I remember when I was a 9th grader. Junior high was a weird, but fun time! You see my hair use long. It went down all the way to my shoulders!" he said, showing me the length with his hands. "Onishi-san, do you have an idea what high school you want to go to?"

"Um... Honestly... I don't really know. I'll probably go to the school my dad ends up picking for me," I replied. Noticing his uniform, I asked him where he goes.

"Ah! You don't know? This is the U.A. school uniform! Pretty cool, right?!" he chirped.

"Oh... That's cool," I replied, trying to make my voice sound more engaging. "So, uh, my friend wants to go there next year. He told me he wants to enroll in the Hero Course."

Hearing that, his blue pupils lit up. "Really? That's great! Actually, I'm in the Hero Course. I'm interning at Sir Nighteye's agency."

Based on how he handled those villains and saved me, it makes sense he's in the Hero Course. He's strong. The way he utilized his quirk was interesting too. I was a bit curious about it, so I questioned him.

"That's understandable. My quirk can look pretty wild!" he remarked bubbly. "My quirk is called Permeation. I can make my body intangible which lets me move through things. That's how I can disappear in a flash! The way I'm able to shoot out so fast out of the ground is because I deactivate my quirk while I'm in there."

Seeing the confused look on my face, he decided to demonstrate for me. Holding his right hand up, he said, "My quirk isn't activated. Watch this..."

He slowly places his hand into the table that separated us. It disappeared. "My quirk is activated now. But if I turn it off..."

His hand suddenly zips up from the table. He gave me a cheeky grin.

"Wow... Er, that's a pretty strong quirk," I remarked in awe.

"No, not really," he said. "I struggled with using my quirk for my whole life. It wasn't until I started training with Sir Nighteye is when I mastered it. He's pretty amazing, y'know!"

Seeing the gratitude that was written in his smile honestly made me feel a bit better. His glee was contagious, that's for sure.

"I have to say, I was surprised at how relaxed you were during the situation," Mirio spoke. "You were the calmest hostage that I've ever seen! And the way you kept your cool while we were getting attacked was shocking. It's almost like you're used to these kinds of things, haha!"

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat as I chuckled nervously. Oh, you just don't know...

"Your quirk was cool too!"

That caught my attention and my eyes immediately snapped onto him.

Since the Hero Festival, I've gotten a better understanding of what my quirk was. However, there was still a lot more to learn. I didn't bother telling my parents or Hiro about this though. Although I've been using it a lot lately, I guess I'm still in shock that it awakened. Besides, they've been very busy lately. I don't need to bother them with my problems.

"What was it? When that villain attacked you with his vines, it was like the salt bounced off! How did you do that?"

"Uh... I don't know. I kind of just reacted?"

Mirio folded his arms and nodded his head. "Killer instincts! That's important for heroes, along with the ability to keep calm under pressure," he said.

Just as he said that, the ceiling collapsed. A gaping hole with a radius of 20 ft appeared. As rubble and debris blew in our faces, I heard explosions and yelling come from the floor below us. It didn't take long for villains to appear from above. Jumping down to our floor, I saw three Crimson Eclipse villains. There was a man with long, curly orange hair with tattoos on his face. Next to him was a grinning man wearing heavy gauntlets, and another with a bald head that had horns.

"So this is the building of All Might's former sidekick... If we wreck this place up, our voices will be heard!" the villain with horns exclaimed. His slender eyes landing on us, he said, "Get 'em, boys!"

The two Crimson villains charged at us as he sprinted over to Sir Nighteye's office. In a flash, Mirio appeared in front of me.

"Onishi-san, please stay back!" Mirio warned. Despite the sudden appearance of the villains, he still retained his relaxed and chill nature. His expression did not falter one bit. He was in complete control. Seeing that, I stepped back to give him room to battle.

I expected to see him get mauled but instead, both their hands went through his torso. Surprise flashed on their faces. With a powerful punch, Mirio simultaneously knocked them back. While getting blown away, the bald villian clapped his hands together sending a small ball of fire toward us. Mirio picked up the round table and deflected the blow. However, the other one comes crashing in. His flaming fist broke the table in half. Mirio would've eaten his flames if he didn't activate his quirk again.

"That was a nice magic trick you did there, buddy," the villain with fiery hands remarked. "But how about this?!"

His partner launches another fireball but this time at him. Instead of burning him to a crisp, I saw that his body stayed lit. He wasn't getting hurt by the flames.

"Burn in a crimson fire!"

He charged forward at lightning speed. Mirio held his left arm up to block the attack. As expected, his fist went through his arm. The villain swung his opposite foot toward his leg, and Mirio activated his quirk again. But while he was caught up in trying to fight him, the other one hurled a flaming ball of fire at me. I quickly ducked down. The fireball breaks the glass and goes flying out the window. Shortly after, I heard a car alarm set off.

"We've got you cornered, buddy! There's nowhere for you to run!" the villain attacking Mirio exclaimed.

He was right. There were walls on both sides and a glass window behind. We couldn't go anywhere. Well, I couldn't go anywhere. Mirio could use his quirk and leave, but he wasn't going to do that.

"Say, isn't that the U.A. uniform?" the one with the fire quirk asked. "No wonder why you're so strong. It'll be a waste if we were to chuck you out of a building when you could join us instead."

"Nope!" Mirio immediately said. "Why would I join a group of villains?"

He shrugged. "It was worth a shot. I guess we can always turn you into a Nomu."

With that, the two of them charged at us. Before I could react, Mirio picks me up in his arms. Angling his back toward the broken glass, he propelled himself backward and we tumble out of the building. A flaming fireball launches over us, just centimeters away from our heads.

"I'm going to send you up!"

"Wait, what-"

I zipped up 30 ft in the air as Mirio plunged. He threw me so hard that I managed to pass the window we jumped out of and made eye contact with the two villains. In a split second, I began to drop down again.

That was kind of awkward. But how the heck was Mirio able to launch me up in the air while we were both free-falling? This guy is insane.

I heard screaming below me as I neared the ground. Police were already at the scene. Cop cars and an ambulance were there. I saw a group of heroes scurrying over to me, probably to catch me before my guts splatter all over. Mirio was nowhere in sight. I swore I saw him seconds earlier. Where did he go?

Just as that crossed my mind, he zips out of the sidewalk at lightning speed. Surging up, his muscular arms caught me and we landed back on the ground with ease.

"Sorry about that, Onishi-san! You must've been surprised!" The blonde boy remarked, placing me down.

"Uh, yeah, but it's okay-"

I stopped midway to stare at his bare body as my face turned into a million shades of red. His shirt was gone. His pants were gone too. But worst of all...

"Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you! I lose my clothes sometimes when I use my quirk!" Mirio informed, completely unaffected by his buck naked situation.

The ambulance hurriedly threw a blanket on him to cover his, uh, private parts. Meanwhile, the other heroes rushed into Nighteye Agency to stop the attack. I was escorted away from the building. But as I was, a huge man comes flying out of another window. It was a Crimson Eclipse villain. Following thereafter were the two villains who attacked Mirio and me. Before hitting the ground, a large card zipped out and caught all three of them. Immediately after, the police rushed forward and apprehended the villains.

Looking up, I saw Blackjack and Sir Nighteye. They were completely unscratched. But it wasn't over yet. Overhead, I heard the sound of a launcher in the sky. Above us were more Crimson Eclipse villains flying over, using their airborne quirks.

"The people of Musutafu City! Hear us now!" One with a small whirlwind surrounding her spoke. "We are the Crimson Eclipse! Our goal is to create an advanced society made up with strong, capable, people! The world has no need for the weak! The world has no need for the lame! The world has no need for those with useless quirks! By creating a utopia composed of only the strong, mankind will thrive! No one will have to get hurt! Life will flourish! Don't you want that?"

"Enough of your nonsense!" Kamui Woods said, getting ready to attack.

But before he could, several people from the crowds jumped forward. Pulling out small glass flasks, they threw them down. Upon impact, green powder erupted all around me. I covered my nose and mouth with my hands. I heard shouting and yelling as civilians tried to escape. While this was happening, Crimson Eclipse villains began their attack. Villains in the air swooped down and grabbed fleeing people. The ones on the ground level were practically indistinguishable; they looked like normal people wearing everyday clothing. By the time you're able to tell them apart, you're getting tackled to the ground. And that nearly happened to me if Mirio weren't there.

Knocking a villain with his fists, he rushed me away from the scene as the powder began to clear. As it did, I saw that many people were lying on the ground unconscious. The ones who were still up were either getting attacked or sprinting away. The authorities were trying their best to fight back but it didn't help that many of them were affected by the drug.

"You were quick for not inhaling that in. You would've fallen asleep like the rest," Mirio said as we escaped.

Suddenly, a fireball surges right at us. On instinct, we both ducked down. It crashed into the street leaving a black burn mark. Walking toward us were those two villains from before. They must've been able to escape from the police amidst all the chaos.

"That was pretty crazy of you, jumping outta the window like that. But this time, you're not going anywhere!"

The one with the fire quirk set his partner ablaze. Sprinting forward, he punched Mirio. Mirio dodged it smoothly before his other fist goes flying at him. In a quick motion, Mirio stepped back. He didn't have time to rest because the other villain sends hurling fireball. Clenching my fist, it zipped to the left as Mirio's body sinks into the ground. That caught the two of them off guard, and before they could react, Mirio zips out of the ground and socks the fire quirk villain in the face, making a tooth flew out. Then kneeing him in the chest, he sent the villain flying.

"An interesting quirk! I really don't want to kill you, bud!" The remaining villain said, throwing a kick.

Mirio jumped back so he was in front of me again. Turning to me, he said, "You should run, Onishi-san."

He must've sensed my hesitation because he gave me a reassuring grin. "Don't worry about me, I got this!"

Biting my lip, I gave him a nod and took off. I'm always running away, aren't I? It's for the best though. I'll just trouble Mirio if I stay.

Straight ahead, I spotted citizens evacuating into the empty street. Police were there helping them. Seeing that, I sped up faster when a Crimson villain jumped in front of me. I skidded to a stop nearly slipping due to my poor choice of footwear.

"Well, well, we meet again!" the skinny man with thorns covering his body said. He lunged forward to grab me. I instinctively darted to the left. I began to sprint away from him.

I suddenly felt something wrap around my right foot. Pulling it back, I face planted. My body skid across the cement as the villain pulled me to him. Once I got there, more vines appeared from his fingertips. They began to wrap around my body.

"You're a quick one, eh?" he remarked.

The vines on me grew tighter. I tried wriggling free but I was completely stuck. Seeing my futile efforts, he cackled. "That ain't gonna help! My quirk is too strong for you! You're too weak!" he said. "I need you to come with me, alright? We need a bit of your blood for drug sampling!"

Without warning, a heavy steel ball goes smashing into the side of his face. He collided into the ground. The vines around me loosen enough to where I could break free. Untangling myself from it, I looked up to see who saved me but I only caught a glimpse. It was a tall figure wearing a long dark red coat. They wore a hood over their head and in their hands was a long weapon. They disappeared in a flash almost as if they teleported. But that wasn't important right now. I needed to leave.

Just as I stood up, Sir Nighteye jumped down in front of me from a floating paper card he was on. Blackjack was standing on top of it. They both looked good as new even though they were probably battling villains. Noticing the unconscious vine villain on the ground, Blackjack said, "It seems like the situation is taken care of. Could this be the villain who drugged you yesterday?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Perfect. He is bound to have information on how to revert you back. We shall take him. But first, I must apprehend the Crescent Reaper. Sir Nighteye-san, please escort Onishi-san to safety."

Wait...what? The Crescent Reaper? I thought Corvade defeated him at the Hero Festival...right?

Before I could question him, he zipped away. Turning to me, Sir Nighteye said, "It's good that you're not hurt. Let me return you to the police. Follow me."

Grabbing my hand, he pulled me along with him and sprinted. He was going fast; it was probably because of his long legs. Even so, I was able to somewhat keep up with him.

"There was no way you could have gotten down here to quickly," Sir Nighteye said.

"Uh, Mirio-kun and I jumped out the window," I informed. "If you're wondering, he's fighting one of the Crimson Eclipse villains..."

"I know."

"...Are you not gonna go back for him?"

Sir Nighteye pushed his glasses up cooly. "Mirio's fine. One of my sidekicks is at the scene with him. Besides, he knows how to handle himself. I trust him."

It looks like the goodwill is mutual between them.

We were steps away to safety when a voice cried out.

"Use it, now!" a voice from above ordered.

Snapping my eyes up, I saw several glass flasks dropping down. Inside of them was orange powder, the same one that I inhaled. There was one tumbling right above us.

"Everyone, run!" Sir Nighteye warned. He shoved me forward into the crowd.

"Wait, but-" I began, turning to look at him in the eyes.

Cementoss created a cement dome. Everything went black for a few seconds as the glass flasks shattered. After waiting for a bit, Cementoss deemed it safe enough to deactivate our coverage. When he did, I immediately locked eyes onto Sir Nighteye, who was standing still. His head was hanging low and there was glass on his suit.

"Sir Nighteye! Are you okay?!" Police cried, running over to him.

He calmly reassured them that he was unhurt. Then after that, Blackjack hovered over. Jumping down from his card, it shrunk into its normal size and zipped into his fingertips. He informed them that Crimson Eclipse has escaped including the Crescent Reaper.

As the police and heroes began to clean up and search for any remaining citizens, the vine villain that attacked me was awake now. He was being interrogated by the police. As it turns out, Blackbird's hypothesis was correct; the orange drug had different effects pertaining to blood type. Upon asking about my genderswapping situation, he said,

"Oh? Him? He'll turn back in 24 hours."

I managed to meet up with Mirio again. He told me that he was able to defeat the villain.

"See? There's nothing to worry about," he remarked, with a new blanket wrapped around his waist. "I told you, I got it!"

I sighed. "Yeah, I know... Thanks for saving me."

"Just doing my job! Once I become a hero, I'm striving to save at least a million people!"

"But Mirio-kun, aren't you already a hero?"

He gazed at me for a moment. Then, a grin spread across his lips. "Hmm... I guess you're right!"

"Mirio. Onishi-san," Sir Nighteye said, approaching us. Beside him was Blackjack.

"Sir Nighteye! I heard that the drug was dropped directly above you. Are you okay?" his pupil asked him.

"Yes. I'm fine," he cooly replied. Focusing his attention on another subject, he asked us if we managed to catch sight of the Crescent Reaper.

"The Crescent Reaper? He's one of the strongest Crimson Eclipse members," Mirio recalled. "He must've been here during the attack if you're asking about him."

"Precisely," Blackjack confirmed. "He may have escaped, but we need as much intel on him as possible. He is a very dangerous villain."

"I see... Sorry, but I didn't see him."

The two men turned to me for an answer. I told them I didn't see him either. With that, Sir Nighteye and Mirio bid farewell to us.

"Well, it's great to know that you're gonna turn back into a girl again!" Mirio happily remarked. "And again, I have to mention how level-headed you were during this whole thing. With the sudden appearance of villains and jumping out the window to your quick quirk usage... Are you sure you don't want to attend U.A. next year?"

I quickly shook my head. I could barely save myself. How am I supposed to save others?

"Oh, Sir Nighteye. Um, thank you for pushing me to safety," I spoke.

The steely hero peered down at me with his yellow eyes. He muttered a "You're welcome", before walking away with Mirio. Once they left, Blackjack turned to me.

"Onishi-san, allow me to apologize to you," Blackjack said. "This was not supposed to happen. I will atone to any damages inflicted upon you."

"Uh... No, it's okay. I'm fine..." I replied, scratching my cheek. "I'm used to things like this."

"Ah, yes. Of course, you are."

"Um... Blackjack, you were there during the Hero Festival, right?"

"Yes."

"Didn't Corvade already defeat the Crescent Reaper?"

"She defeated one of them."

"Er... What do you mean by that?"

Blackjack repositioned his bowtie and wiped out nonexistent dirt on his white blazer. "I am not permitted to inform you about this, but there is more than one Crescent Reaper. The one that was present today is the second one."

Hearing that, I felt my heart sink. The scene of Strawberry Shades and Masterbaiter getting hurt because of my sake flashed in my head. I recalled the dark and sinister vibe he gave off. It was chilling.

Blackjack turned his back toward me. "I think it's time for you to get back home. I will escort you."

»»—- —-««

Once they have gotten a far enough distance away, the spectacled hero glanced back at Rin. Rin was having a conversation with Blackjack. Based on her facial expression, it looked like she was troubled by whatever the vigilante was telling her. It seemed like the same expression traveled up to Sir Nighteye's face because his blonde pupil asked him about it.

"No... It's nothing."

Sir Nighteye could tell that Mirio wanted to question further, but he didn't. And it was a wise thing to do. When Crimson Eclipse dropped the drugs down, Sir Nighteye accidentally inhaled some of it. Following Blackjack's hypothesis to a T, his quirk, Foresight, was forcefully activated. Since the last person he touched and made eye contact with was Rin...

_There is nothing I can do about the future. Nothing can change it. Even now, my efforts to prevent All Might's demise may not work. _

He stared solemnly at Rin.

_ But...how tragic of that to happen to her._


	21. Shatter

"Are you going to pick up Hiro again? He can get home by himself," Dad's words rang, repeating in my mind. As I waited for Hiro to come out of the station, I began to wonder why I pick him up anyway. Hiro's practically an adult now.

"Now that I think about it... Maybe I pick him up because I know he'll buy me food on the way home..." I murmured to myself.

Since he's been busy lately with work, maybe I'll treat him today. It's been three months since he came home anyway. It'll be a little "welcome home" gift.

When Hiro walked out of the station, I suggested the idea to him. He agreed on the spot which was a surprise. I'd expect him to disagree and begin insisting on buying me something instead. He even said that we should go to eat ice cream. I guess he really has been stressed if he's letting me take him out and being so bold to voice his cravings.

"I saw you on tv when you saved those kids. Your hero costume looked cool. And I guess you did take my suggestion... Y'know, making your hero name _Hiro,_" I said as we walked to the ice cream parlor. I noticed that he wasn't wearing his glasses. I found that kind of strange, so I asked him.

He pointed to his eyes. "Contacts!"

Oh yeah. That makes sense.

I noticed that he was staring at me. Maybe there was leftover rice on my face? Or dried up drool? I did take a nap before coming here.

"My bad. I didn't mean to stare," he apologized sheepishly. "You have a lovely face, Rin."

I looked at him in shock and embarrassment. I found that weird of him to say. He wasn't one to compliment me out of the blue. Not to mention, the way he's acting. Maybe he's just happy that he's back home? It started to get a bit awkward, so I asked him how work was going since he got promoted to hero status.

"Everything's going great! Taking down evil villains and all," he chirped. "But you don't want to hear about boring jobs, do you? How are you doing, Rin?"

"Er... Fine, I guess?"

"How about your friends, Rin? Anything fun happen?"

Darting my eyes away, I said, "Oh yeah, some of my friends came over and like, accidentally broke your closet. Masterbaiter-, er, my friend said he'll pay you back."

Hiro let out a chuckle. "Really? That sounds exciting. I wonder how much he'll pay..."

We both stopped upon seeing the large crowd in front of us. There were police cars everywhere. News anchors and cameras rushed to get an interview with the hero. Amidst the people, I peeked through to see a familiar strawberry head with shades.

"Strawberry Shades! Strawberry Shades! May we have a word with you?" a lady holding a microphone said. The cameraman pointed the camera at him.

"Yes! Of course!" the hero cheerfully said.

"It seems like you've been running around the city apprehending many villains lately. The people have noticed that despite the recent attacks made by the Crimson Eclipse, you always manage to put a stop to their antics while retaining that upbeat attitude of yours. How do you do it?"

The hero beamed. Leaning into the mic, he replied, "It is quite simple! It's all thanks to my most favorite hero, the Symbol of Peace: All Might! I aspire to bring justice and joy just like him with a smile!"

"Of course! Many heroes aspire to be like him. What would you do if you were to meet him?"

"Meet All Might?" he repeated, with an excited expression appearing on his face. "W-well, that would be fantastically fantastic!"

As the news anchor continued to interview him, Hiro and I walked around the crowd. I noticed that three red-clothed men were getting shoved into a cop car in handcuffs. They wore a red bandana around their necks and shiny, latex jackets.

Crimson Eclipse again? They've been running rampant lately. Their attacks have been getting more radical too. Just last week, they blew up one of the police stations. Since U.A. is in the area, people are saying that they might attack it next. Also, there's a weird movement happening on social media. Ever since Crimson Eclipse's attacks became more violent, there have been people all over the internet beginning to post things about their support to the cause. I guess their crazy ideology is able to get through some people's heads. It's unnerving.

"That's Strawberry Shades. I've heard a lot about him. He's a pretty funny guy," Hiro remarked. Noticing the Crimson Eclipse members getting pushed into the car, he said, "Crimson Eclipse? I don't understand them one bit. They're weird talking about building a society with strong quirks. The utopia that they want seems pretty restricting, to me."

"I mean, I guess?" I replied, scratching my cheek. "Have you ran into any of them in Murato City?"

"Yep! But looks like they're more focused on doing something big here in Musutafu instead," he said, a bit too happily. "I wonder what their next move is..."

We were almost away from the scene when I heard Strawberry Shades call out to me. I ignored him and picked up the pace to avoid a camera getting shove in my face. However, Hiro stopped and I had no choice but to do the same. I felt everyone's eyes fall onto me along with all the cameras in the vicinity point at me as Strawberry Shades jogged over. I awkwardly stood there until he arrived.

"Rin-chan! It's wonderful to see you," he said with a grin. He gasped upon seeing the friendship bracelet around my wrist. "C-could it be? You're wearing the bracelet I made!"

"Um, yeah. I've been wearing it since you gave it to me..."

He dramatically clutched his chest as tears pricked his eyes. "M-my heart! I don't think I can take this wholesomeness!"

"Strawberry Shades, right?" Hiro asked. "Nice to meet you. I am Hiro, Rin's big brother!"

"Ah, yes! I recall our meeting," Strawberry Shades replied.

I stiffened upon hearing that. Excusing myself for a moment, I pulled Strawberry Shades to the side and whispered in his ear.

"Hiro doesn't know that you're the same guy from the festival... Y'know, Barry?"

"Oh, yeah! That's right! He doesn't know that I'm-"

I shushed him before he could expose himself. Then reminding him again to not spill the beans, we turned back around.

"Y-yes! I am the hero: Strawberry Shades! Hello, Onishi Rin's brother! It's nice to meet you for the very first time!" he stiffly said. I cringed. However, Hiro remained ignorant of their previous encounter and started talking to him about his hero work. I would've expected him to ask Strawberry Shades on how he knew me, but I shrugged it off. Soon enough, the topic of conversation steered in the direction of quirks.

"Your quirk allows you to create seeds, right? That sounds lovely," Hiro complimented.

The hero nodded. "That's correct! I heard that your quirk is amazing. Who'd you inherit it from? I got mine from my fabulous father! But I'm puzzled over something..."

He peered at me through his cat-eyed lenses. "Mitsumu told me that Rin-chan didn't get either of your parents' quirks but you did."

Right when he said that, I stiffened. Hiro's eyes flickered to me in curiosity.

Crap. He wasn't supposed to say that. I didn't tell my parents or Hiro that I found my quirk.

"W-we gotta go now," I nervously said, backing away. "It was n-nice seeing you..."

"Already? We were having such a wonderful conversation!" he protested.

Walking behind Hiro, I pushed him away. We left the displeased hero behind as news anchors began to flood back to him.

"What's this about, Rin?" Hiro asked me.

I tried to avoid the conversation by telling him it was nothing. However, he wasn't backing down. He persisted on the topic.

"I... Uh, I... My..." I stuttered, struggling to find an excuse. Seeing that we arrived at the ice cream parlor, I changed the subject. I suggested we go inside to eat. I zipped to order ice cream. Luckily there was no line or else this diversion wouldn't have worked.

"Chocolate Caramel sundae," I quickly spoke. I glanced at Hiro to let him know it was his turn. He ended up ordering Pomegranate sundae that was drizzled with strawberry syrup. As we took a seat near the window, I couldn't help but wonder why he made that choice, so I asked him.

"I thought you hated pomegranate."

"Not anymore! Pomegranates are delicious, Rin."

I shrugged it off. People's tastes change when they get older. Who knows, maybe I'll grow up to hate chocolate. Though, that sounds outrageous.

"So! About your...friend..." Hiro started. "Strawberry Shades! How's he like? Tell me everything about him!"

I'd expect him to continue the discussion of my quirk not talk about him. It was a bit weird but I wasn't complaining. I'll write an entire book of my encounters with Strawberry Shades if that's what it takes to avoid talking about my quirk. Though, it's strange that he's so interested in that guy.

"Strawberry Shades... Well, he's kind of, uh, difficult to describe. He's like...kinda weird. He is wearing a strawberry mask, after all. He's cocky, bold, reckless, and way too energetic for me," I began. "But..."

The image of Strawberry Shades appearing to stop the villain at the Hero Festival flashed in my mind. Along with that, the reassuring, dazzling smile.

"He's always been great at lightening the mood. He's a good person, and he's a good hero."

I didn't realize that a small smile had curled up on my face until Hiro let out a giggle.

"Wow, really? He sounds like an amazing friend!" Hiro remarked. "Do you think he'll want to become friends with me?"

"I mean, probably. He asks me about you a lot. So does everyone in Blackbird."

Oops. I let that last bit slip out.

Hiro raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "Blackbird? You mean the vigilante group?"

"U-uh... Blackbird? Er..." I stuttered as I began to sweat. He rested his face on his palms and let out a giggle.

"Don't worry. I know about them. I know a few things, actually."

"Here are your orders!" the waitress said to us. She set our ice cream down before walking away.

This doesn't feel right. There's something wrong with him.

"I..." I said beginning to stand up. However, he beckoned me to sit back down.

"Where you going? I just got my sundae. I want to eat," he replied nonchalantly.

When I looked into his eyes, they weren't his. The usual relaxing feeling in them was gone. Instead, there was a different set of eyes. The foreign, distant, and maniacal stare bore into me.

"Besides, we have things to chat about, Rin-chan. Sit back down."

Hiro gave me a wide grin exposing sharp canines. He began to tap the table softly as he stared at me.

I can tell that this person is dangerous. If they're able to impersonate Hiro, copying his appearance and voice, who knows what else they're capable of? There's no need to be too brash, at least, not yet.

**Thump... thump... thump...**

I cautiously sat back down in my seat. Seeing that, the grin on Hiro's face widened. "Oh, Rin-chan... You're very lovely, you know that?"

"What...have you done with Hiro?"

The smile from his face fell. He pouted as he picked up the spoon. They began to play with their ice cream.

"No _thank you_? That's kind of harsh, Rin-chan..." they remarked. "I was supposed to go home with you and inspect your dad, but it looks like you caught onto me much more quickly than expected! You're cunning, Rin-chan! I'll tell you where your big brother is if you tell me about your papa."

Dad? What's so special about him? And who would try to get information on him?

"Hello~? Are you listening~?" they piped, waving a hand in front of my face. "I need to know everything about him. Kiyoshi said he'll buy me anything I want if I do."

The events of that night flashed in my head along with the presence of a tall, pale, dark-haired man with an armor of bone around his fist.

If this person is working for Kiyoshi, they must be in Crimson Eclipse. I'm getting used to dealing with their crazy members, but this person was on another level. I think it's best to wait and listen to what they have to tell me.

Hiro took a bite of ice cream. "I've been wanting to get more clothes lately, so that's why I took the job. So yeah, mind telling me everything? Maybe not everything because I do know a few things, like how he was in Venom's Bane with Kiyoshi and that is little sister ran away. I'm not sure why though. Kiyoshi didn't tell me the details, but Akira said his sister left Venom's Bane to become a hero. "

So that's why Kiyoshi said he knew Dad back then. They were in the gang together. But I wasn't too focused on that. I was more attentive to Dad's sister. By the way my parents were acting at the dinner table when Bakugo came over, they made it seemed like she passed away. But if his sister, or should I say, my aunt, ran away to be a hero, how come he never told me about her?

"But I guess that didn't work out so well for her! She should've stayed instead of becoming one of those superficial, shallow, heroes!" Hiro's lookalike remarked. "Being constricted to outdated rules is so boring. What's the point of having a quirk if you can't use it whenever you wanna?"

I gritted my teeth in annoyance. I was getting fed up with this. Hiro-lookalike took notice and tilted his head.

"What's the matter, Rin-chan? You should hurry and eat your sundae before it melts!"

"Wh-who are you? Where is my brother?" I demanded, with a tinge of vexation in my voice.

The impersonater ignored me and grabbed another spoonful of pink ice cream. Sticking it in Hiro's mouth, a delighted blush appeared on his face.

"Mmm! Yummy! I love the taste of pomegranate!" they mused. "But not as much as his blood..."

Hearing that made my heartbeat skip. My body temperature began to rise and my breaths quickened. Something heavy inside began to swirl and expand. And then, the hand that was resting on the table began to tremble with the prickling sensation rising to my fingertips. Was it frustration? Worry? Fear?

"Say, Rin-chan, I've heard a little bit about your quirk. It sounds cool!" they remarked carelessly. "Lemme see!"

The spoon in their fingertips surges toward me. Before reaching my face, the spoon bends in half and flies down to the ground. Customers sitting near us noticed the sudden attack and turned to look.

Hiro's lookalike clapped in awe upon seeing me deflect the spoon. "Woah! That was amazing! Say, can we be friends? I want to be your friend, Rin-chan!"

"Tell me where Hiro is," I repeated, a bit more firmly this time.

A wide grin spread on his face. "I don't want to make my friend angry. Here, I'll take you to where he is!"

Without warning, the table flips over with our icy treats crashing to the floor. Before I could react, they surge toward me and knock me down. The weight of Hiro's athletic physique was not helping me escape one bit, as I tried to push my attacker off of me. Meanwhile, the people in the shop began to run out in panic.

"Stay still, Rin-chan! Don't you wanna see your big brother?" my attacker asked, as Hiro's knee pressed down on my stomach.

They threw a punch to my face. Using my quirk, Hiro's fist goes swiping the other way.

"You can even deflect punches too? I'm so glad I'm friends with someone this cool!" they exclaimed, pulling up their sleeve.

Before they could, Strawberry Shades goes flying through the window. His foot nearly kicked Hiro's lookalike in the face, but they were able to dodge it in time. Flipping up in the air, they smoothly landed back on their heels a couple of feet away from me.

"Stop in the name of justice!" Strawberry Shades bellowed.

A huge grin of delight spread across Hiro's face. "Strawberry Shades! You're here! I'm so happy to see you!"

"Th-that's not Hiro! It's someone impersonating him!" I informed.

"I understand," the hero replied. "Rin's brother would never hurt her like that!"

Hiro's lookalike suddenly appeared in front of him. Grabbing a chair that has fallen, they threw it in his face. The hero dodged it by stepping to the left but the attacker goes flying over his head. While in midair, they simultaneously grabbed his yellow cape and twisted their body. Landing back in front of him, they jerked Strawberry Shades forward causing him to spin. He stumbled back with his torso facing me.

Pulling up their sleeve revealed a sharp combat knife. Pulling it out from its sheath, they dashed toward Strawberry Shades with such speed that Strawberry Shades hardly had time to dodge. The knife grazes his cheek. Moving behind them, he knees them in the back which sends them tumbling to the floor. Strawberry Shades goes to punch them but his opponent speedily rolls to the side. Jumping up and moving away, Hiro's lookalike licked the blood of their blade.

"Mmm! Your blood tastes delicious!" they remarked with a lovesick gleam in Hiro's eyes. "I want more!"

"Thank you, villain! But your petty compliments isn't going to stop me from pummeling you to the ground!"

Strawberry Shades and his opponent charged at each other at the exact moment. The villain leaped up to his face in an attempt to cut him again. However, Strawberry Shades was able to dodge the attack. Holding his palm near their lower abdomen, a seed launches out. They weren't able to dodge in time and it smashes into their gut. That gave Strawberry Shades the opportunity to land a hard punch. The villain stumbled backward with blood dripping from their nose. Strawberry Shades gave them no time to recover because he dashes toward them.

"Your villainy ends now, villain!"

But before he could land a blow, a bolt of lightning slammed into the floor nearly hitting him. Glancing at the broken glass showed a tall Crimson Eclipse member. She wore a cropped latex jacket with shiny, skinny pants. A bandana covered her nose and lips. A band with a crescent moon was wrapped around her upper left arm. Behind her were three other Crimson grunts.

It's her again. The first member I met when I accidentally raided the hideout, and the one who sent those two villains after us during the Hero Festival.

"Akira-chan? What are you doing here?" Hiro's lookalike exclaimed.

"Please retreat, Toga. We'll take care of this!"

They all charged toward Strawberry Shades. I watched as he had to fend off five attackers all at once. It was amazing but most of all, it was nerve-wracking. Seeing him work so hard to protect me made guilt sink into my stomach. I was being useless again. I need to help him. I'm tired of being a victim.

**Thump. Thump. Thump.**

Strawberry Shades fell to the floor due to one of the villains tripping him with his tail. A grunt with huge hands slammed his fist at his head. Luckily, Strawberry Shades rolled away in time but had to watch out for Hiro's lookalike's knife attack. He held his arm up and blocked it with a seed. Kicking his foot up, he hit them and jumped back up. Another Crimson grunt spit webs at him. The hero dodged, but that's when Akira sent a bolt of lightning straight to him.

Now.

Before reaching him, the bolt surges right. Coincidentally, one of her comrades was standing in the pathway and got hit instead. They let out a yelp as they got electrocuted by her bolt. The voltage was so strong that it caused them to knock out.

"Who did that?!" Akira demanded with fury. She noticed me standing at the side and glared. "It was you! You'll pay for this, brat!"

She sends a line of lightning at me. On instinct, I made it go the other way. But this time, I noticed that it was significantly more powerful than her little bolt. She kept on fueling the lightning toward me as she slowly closed the gap between us. I was struggling to keep it deflected away from me. The intense and sparkling line of electricity was inching closer and closer to my torso. Meanwhile, Strawberry Shades was too busy trying to defeat the other remaining villains. He was able to avoid the other two Crimson grunts that came with Akira with relative ease, but Hiro's lookalike was a little harder.

Crap. At this rate, I'm going to be burnt to a crisp like the other guy. Concentrate harder, Rin!

I held both my hands up to put more power into it. Immediately, a huge headache suddenly appeared. The ringing in my ear grew louder too and more sweat began to run down my face.

"You can't do it. Your ability isn't as strong as hers. Just give up," Akira said, as the force got stronger.

My hands began to shake, and it felt like huge boulders were weighing down on my muscles. The pounding headache intensified to the point where I was about to vomit. I tried my best to suppress my sickness, but my body was shutting down.

I can't fail here. I'll just become a deadweight loss to Strawberry Shades again if I get knocked unconscious.

Suddenly, something sticky stuck to my left leg. From the corner of my vision, I saw a white web. Within a split second, my left leg gets jerked to the side and my body tumbles backward. That promptly broke my concentration, and I watched as Akira's thunderbolt came surging straight for my face. I can't deflect it in time!

Her thunderbolt didn't reach me. Instead, it bounced off as if there was an invisible barrier around me and flew toward her. Despite catching her off guard, she speedily avoided getting burnt to crisps by rolling away. The thunderbolt goes crashing into the window behind her. Shortly after, three heroes come bursting in.

"We must hold them off until the rest of the heroes arrive!" the Battle Hero, Gunhead, exclaimed.

He immediately flew into action by shooting out a keratin bullet out of his arm at the Crimson grunt with the web quirk. The grunt dodged but since one of his webs was attached to my leg, I got dragged on the floor. The villain hurled a ball of web at Gunhead but it zipped away before hitting him. A fury of keratin bullets shot out of his arms. As the villain avoided and deflected them, that gave Masterbaiter, who I didn't even see until now, the chance to get close. With a powerful hit from his fishing pole, he sends the villain flying over to Hiro's lookalike. The speed of the attack was so fast that it ripped the web that was on me in half. He crashes into them.

"You forgot someone!" Akira exclaimed, jumping to him.

She sends out a powerful thunderbolt at him. But as she did, the heels of a twin-tailed hero kicks her in the face. That made the bolt miss and knocked her back. Static picks up a glass bowl full of melted ice cream and slammed it into her head, but she didn't notice that Akira's hand was readying another attack. Akira sends out a stream of lightning. However, it zips away from her and nearly zaps the other Crimson villain Strawberry Shades was battling. Within that split second, Static slaps her hand onto the arm that sent the lightning, and Akira's arm went limp. She went to grab the other when Akira knees her in the chest. Static steps back as the two of them begin to duel.

Meanwhile, the leader of Blackbird approached me. Her thin eyebrows dipped down over her steely violet eyes as she yanked me up from the floor.

"Come with me. Right now," she bluntly ordered.

"B-behind!" I warned as another web flew toward the back of her head. Her eyes glowed for a second. In instant, the web switched its course and hurled toward Akira.

"Why are you standing there? I told you to move!" Corvade repeated, clutching my arm. She pulled me along as we jumped out of the broken window.

"She's getting away!" one of the Crimson grunts exclaimed.

"As if! Move it, off-brand Midnight!" Akira barked.

"What did you say?!"

With the swipe of her foot, she tripped Static making her land on the ground. She took off running toward us. Static leaped to her feet to follow when another grunt blocks her escape. She had no choice but to stay behind.

Corvade and I ran through the street that was crowded with panicked people. It was a bit difficult to navigate through, but luckily she was here to help. Her movements were so fluid and smooth with lightness in every step. It was somewhat memorizing.

"Outta my way, Leftovers!" Akira said from behind. She hurls a lightning bolt at us despite the group of people between us. With her eyes glowing again, Corvade made the bolt bounce back toward her. Ducking down and using her back foot to propel herself, Akira zipped through the crowd. She was in front of us within seconds.

"You were the one who defeated Ruby!" she exclaimed. "I'll make sure to bring your head to Kiyoshi!"

Akira swung her clenched fist at Corvade as Corvade pushed me back. Stumbling on my toes, I watched Akira miss. However, she unclenched her fist. Swinging it back, she sent a lightning bolt at Corvade. Corvade dodged the attack. She slammed her heavy boot against her abdomen. It looked like it hurt because Akira grimaced. Reaching into her dark coat, Corvade pulled out a long baton and flicked the end of it against Akira's chin. Akira leaned back and threw her heel up but missed Corvade. Flipping backward, she jumped to where I was at and wrapped her arm around my neck. A sparky, yellow thunderbolt appeared in her palm that was inches away from stabbing me in the neck.

"You move and I'm sending this into her neck," Akira warned. I could feel slight electrical sparks flicker onto me as sweat stained the side of my face. Around me, spectators gasped in horror with their eyes widening in fear. However, Corvade's eyes showed no sense of worry or dread. They remained calm and collected. She was in complete control.

Corvade dashes toward us. I felt the tip of the bolt prick my neck before it zipped back to Akira. I broke free from her grasp and dived for the ground. Akira gets electrocuted from her own thunderbolt. Corvade slams the baton over her head dealing massive damage. Reaching for her bandana, she pulled Akira's face down into her knee. Then, she swung her baton to the side of her head. The villain flies into the cement falling onto her hands. Akira's hands were trapped underneath her torso rendering her unable to use her quirk while Corvade held her down.

"You're so annoying!" Akira remarked as blood ran down her nose.

"Tell me what you plan on doing with her."

"Why should I tell you? You're nothing but a pretend hero!" she snickered.

"It's best if you tell now rather than in solitary confinement. They're not going to be as generous as me."

Akira scoffed. "And I thought heroes were supposed to be virtuous. All more the reason to get rid of them! You're strong, y'know? It's a shame that you're not on our side. Crimson Eclipse could really use someone like you."

Corvade dug her knee into her spine making her grimace. "Cut to the chase. I don't have time to chit chat."

"Kiyoshi was right; you are a stick in the mud! Why can't you be more friendly like Hiro-san?"

That caught my attention. Standing up from the cement, I slowly approached her.

**Thump, thump, thump.**

"What...do you mean by that?"

Akira peered over to me with a small smile. "Your brother, right? I've been keeping an eye on him for a long time. Orders from the boss. He even made me go undercover as a hero!" she informed. "He was such a nice guy! He's always watching out for everyone, including me. He was a pretty great fighter. His quirk was amazing too! It sucks that he wasn't willing to embrace that small, fleeting, subconscious of his. I know he wanted to let everything go; to beat down the people who wronged him. But there was something holding him back..."

In the distance, I heard the sounds of a siren along. Turning around, I saw a group of heroes running over to us.

"It's too late," Corvade spoke solemnly.

Heroes arrived in no time. They apprehended Akira with ease, along with the other Crimson Eclipse members. The only one that escaped was Hiro's lookalike, and that bothered me the most. With a dangerous quirk like theirs, they can cause all sorts of chaos.

As they proceeded to cuff Akira, I noticed she was staring at me. The look in her eyes was dark and deep. It made a pit form inside my stomach and made my heart heavy. Before being shoved into a cop car, she said,

"Your brother really loved you, you know that?"

»»—- —-««

It's been a week. After that incident, we tried getting a hold of Hiro but he wasn't answering. We called his workplace too but they said they thought he went home. One day he was at work and the next, he wasn't We even went to Murato City to find that he was nowhere to be found. He was gone.

That last time I remember speaking to him was during my date with Iida, which was a month ago. I don't know why I didn't find his lack of communication strange; I just thought that he was too busy with work to talk so I let it be.

But now, I wished I hadn't.

"...What?" I softly spoke.

I heard the sound of the train leaving the subway. It rattled on the train tracks. Around me, people's footsteps vibrated in my ears. The subway was bustling with people today being that it was a Friday afternoon. Everyone was returning from work and school, desperate to go home to be with their families.

Mom, whose breathing was so rapid, tried to speak but she couldn't. She kept on beginning sentences and starting them over. She was too emotional to speak. But then, I heard the phone get snatched out of her hands. Shortly after, Dad spoke.

"She... We...were supposed to tell you when you got home but... We have news about Hiro."

My heart began to pound. Whether it was in excitement, dread, anxiety, or fear... I couldn't tell.

"Rin..." Dad said in the most gentlest voice I've ever heard him do.

**"Hiro's dead."**


	22. Because You're My Hero

Mom eyed my clothes up and down as I silently opened the fridge. Grabbing the bento I prepared last night in my right hand, I shut the fridge with my elbow. I stuffed my lunch into my backpack. I walked out of the kitchen and toward the front door. I began to put on the squeaky clean sneakers Mrs. Wren bought for me. While tying the laces, Mom spoke.

"Rin, you don't have to go to school, you know that? You can stay home for another day."

"I've been absent for three days... I don't want to miss out on too much schoolwork."

"I know that what happened was unexpected, and everything that's going on is stressful," she gently said. "School's important, but what's more important right now is your health."

"I'm fine," I insisted, with a tinge of vexation in my voice.

I saw Mom give me a hurt expression from the corner of my eye. She didn't say anything back. Looking away, I finished tying my shoelaces and stood up. I told her that she didn't need to worry about me. Then I shut the door and made my way to the train station.

A couple of days have passed since they told me the news. Dad said that once Akira got interrogated by the police, she spilled the beans about Hiro. While posing as a hero at his agency, she was able to extract information on him. Doing so enabled her to contact the Crimson Eclipse and kidnap him. She tried to convince him to join but... She didn't say the details, but it was enough to understand what happened. He was...

"Rin-chan!" a short girl wearing preschooler outfit exclaimed. Himawari ran over and gave me a big hug. "I missed you!"

I awkwardly patted her bright yellow hat which was equally as bright as the sun. "U-uh, yeah, me too..."

Himawari let go of my waist. She peered up at me with her round, dark, pupils. "Mommy's takin' me to school. I love school!" she happily chirped. "Hey, hey! Did Hiro-chan come back home yet? When's he comin' back? I miss him!"

I stiffened, and my throat tightened. I struggled to find a reply as Himawari stared at me with that innocent gleam in her eyes.

"Himawari! Didn't I tell you not to run off?" her mom said, her heels clicking on the sidewalk. She grabbed her daughter's hands. She looked at me for a moment. I'd expect her to say something about not coming near her daughter, but she said something instead that made me wish she retained her usual cold demeanor.

"I heard about Hiro... He was a very good man. My condolences."

My eyes fell to the ground. I thanked her. After that, she dragged her daughter away as she waved goodbye. Once getting out of my sight, I let out a small sigh and continued on my way. Soon enough, I arrived in the city. There were fewer people out today. It must be because of the Crimson Eclipse. The attack at the ice cream shop was the last straw for civilians, and many began to minimize their time in public places in fear of getting targeted. Some people began to turn against the police and heroes, blaming them for letting the Crimson Eclipse cause so much damage in the city.

My eyes fell toward the graffiti that was plastered onto building walls. Many of them were criticizing the authorities and how they keep failing at their jobs. But then, a picture of a red crescent moon caught my eye as I walked passed. There was writing underneath. Halting to a stop, I crept closer.

**_The weak will die. The strong will prevail._**

I quickly looked away and sped away toward the stoplight. For some reason, I thought back to Kiyoshi's words from that night.

_"I've been keeping an eye on you for a while along with your brother."_

I can't believe I forgot something so important. Maybe the hostage situation and trying to call for help distracted me. It didn't help that I fell unconscious too. Why is it that I remember this when he's already...

I felt someone tap me on the shoulder stopping me from walking into the bustling street. I realized that the light was red. Turning around, I saw Mrs. Wren. She was strolling Junichi in a very elaborate baby stroller. It was gold and black, with the hood and seat being black and the trimmings being gold. Junichi was sitting inside with the seatbelts looking ready to burst. He was knawing on bright yellow giraffe teething toy. He looked even chubbier from the last time I saw him.

"I saved your life, you know? I don't even get a drop of gratitude?" Mrs. Wren remarked with a small frown.

"Oh... Uh, thanks?"

She huffed. "Onishi-san, you ought to be better at communicating. Your manner of speech is so awkward. You also tend to use unnecessary filler words in your sentences."

"Um... Okay..."

"Didn't I tell you not to use unnecessary filler words?!"

I scratched my cheek. "Sorry. But I really did mean it. Thanks for saving me."

She stuck her nose up in the air. With a tint of pink appearing on her cheeks, she said, "Hmph! You are such a naive girl! Anyway, I have a gift for you."

She bent down behind the stroller. Rummaging around in the basket, she pulled out a white envelope that was covered in lace. She held it out to me beckoning me to take it. Upon doing so, I asked her what it was for. However, she told me to just open it so I did.

"W-woah... A $2000 gift card? Um, this is too much," I said.

"Worry not. A simple gift like this was easy for me to obtain. Use this to buy whatever you desire," she replied with a hint of haughtiness. But then, her rigid features softened and her voice turned quiet. "I...I know that no amount of money won't be able to allay your sorrow. However... I hope that this gift can temporarily get your mind off of it. My deepest condolences."

The light turned green. Since Mrs. Wren was going the other way, she bid me farewell. Walking down the street, I gripped the white envelope at my fingertips trying to clear my mind. It was hard to when everyone kept bringing him up.

Peering up at the sky, I noticed that it got a bit cloudier than before. It was nothing too concerning though; it was nice to have a break from the blinding sun.

I felt my phone begin to ring. I pulled it out and glanced at the screen.

**Incoming call from:**

**Iida-sensei ?**

"Hello, Onishi!" Iida's voice rang. He cleared his throat and spoke again but in a quieter voice. "I mean, hello Onishi."

"You called early. What's up?" I asked, stepping to the side of the street to let people pass.

"Yes, well, I'd expect you'd be wondering why I'm calling you so early in the morning," he said. "I'm calling to inform you that the study session for this weekend is canceled."

"Um, alright. You could've just texted me, y'know."

"That's right! Ahem. That's right. The passing of a loved one can make a person's mood dampen. I wanted to check up on you to assure that you are okay. So Onishi, how are you doing?"

I bit my lip and I told him that I was fine. Hearing that, he said he was going to check up on me again after school. Then, he told me that he was going to hang up now since he was already at school, and he wasn't supposed to be on his phone right now. He rambled on a bit about how nervous he was breaking the rules. Hearing how he was willing to give me a call even if it meant going against school policy made me feel a bit lighter inside. As I prepared to end the call, he spoke.

"Onishi... I am truly sorry for what happened. It's important for you to depend on family and friends during times of hardship. If you're in need of any assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to me!"

"...Yeah," I replied, softly. "Thanks, Iida."

He ended the call. Stuffing my phone into my sweater, I continued my way to the station. Upon arriving and entering the train, my eyes snapped onto the white-and-red haired boy who was sitting down by the door. He was scrolling on his phone, as usual. I felt the jealous gazes of lovesick schoolgirls pierce into me as I strolled over to the empty seat beside him. When I sat down, he glanced at me in acknowledgment. With a shrill rattle, the train departed.

Ten minutes passed, and we didn't say a word to each other. This was common, though. Sometimes we don't talk at all during the ride. Although sitting together in silence was a bit uncomfortable at first, I quickly grew used to it.

I was lost in my thoughts. I tried my best not to think about Hiro but my mind kept on wandering back to him. Because of that, most of my time on the train consisted of me remembering things about him. The furthest memory I had of him was when I was two. I think I was playing catch with him in the house. We were bouncing my blue, Cinderella bouncy ball that I begged for at the supermarket. I kept missing the catch and throwing the ball bad at him, but he didn't mind. When I did manage to catch it, I remembered feeling really proud. Partly because I finally did it, but mostly because I made Hiro happy.

There was also this time when I fell down in the park. It was a really hot summer day. I was playing tag with some random kids at the playground when I tripped on my flimsy, bright pink, flip-flops. I scraped my knee and it started bleeding. I couldn't play anymore after that. Since it was just Hiro and me, he piggybacked me back home. I remember trying to hold in my tears and Hiro's gentle voice trying to soothe me. When we got home, Mom washed my knee and gave me a bandaid. To make me feel better, Hiro gave me a popsicle.

Once I entered elementary, that's when the bullying began. The older I grew, the more I got bullied. The kids teased me, but never when Hiro was around. They were scared of him. Because of me, Hiro got into trouble a lot, and he got hurt. So, I decided to try my best to stop the bullying. I tried to ignore them every time they would comment about my lack of a quirk and when they tripped me in the hallways. When Hiro would ask me if anyone bothered me on our walk home, I would always say that nobody did. I didn't want him to worry, but that was nearly impossible to achieve.

_ "I'll be your quirk. So if anyone of those bullies come back to tease you, just call me over and I'll take care of them!"_

But now that he's gone, I have nothing. I am nothing. I'm...

"Onishi," Todoroki suddenly spoke.

I broke out of my thoughts. I didn't realize, but my hands were trembling slightly. He must've noticed it too or else he wouldn't have called my name.

"Are...you okay?"

I hid my hands into my hoodie pocket and nodded. He stared at me with his brown and turquoise eyes for a moment. It looked like he was trying to think of what to say next. He ended up not saying anything and broke his gaze. Instead, he reached into his schoolbag and pulled out a pair of white earbuds. Plugging it into his phone, he opened Youtube and scooted closer to me. He held out the right side of the earbud to me.

"You want to watch videos with me?"

That was typical of him. He was always sending me Youtube links. Although someone else would've found his question totally random, I knew what he was trying to do. Understanding that made my chest feel less heavy. Taking the earbud and putting it into my ear, Todoroki and I watched ridiculous but adorable cat videos for the rest of the train ride.

When I got to school, I could tell my classmates were uncomfortable. When I entered the classroom for the first time, the whole room got quiet. It was strange that everyone's attention was focused on me. During lunch, some of my classmates asked me how I was doing. They gave me their sympathies, including Midoriya. He was shaken up over the entire thing.

"Onishi, I'm so sorry for what happened. I know this isn't much, but please accept this!"

I think he was unsure of what to do because Midoriya bought me a handful of curry bread from the school store. It was a bit silly, but it did make me feel a bit better knowing he had good intentions. But now, I don't know what to do with all this bread.

I let out a small sigh as I wiped the chalkboard.

I could always give some to Blackbird. They're always helping me out. They'll like free food, especially Static since she claims that she's always eating instant ramen for dinner. I should give some to Hiro too. I'm sure he'll-

...Oh yeah. That's right. I already forgot, didn't I?

The door to the class slid open. Glancing right, I saw an explosive blonde boy walk inside with a bucket of water. He grumpily set it down. His red eyes flickered at me. He sauntered over and stopped in front of me.

"What are you doin' here?" he demanded.

I told him I was scheduled to clean the classroom today. Hearing that, his eyes lowered to the eraser in my hand. It lingered there for a second before coming back to me.

"Scram."

I gave him a puzzled look. He snatched the eraser from my fingertips and pushed me aside. He began to forcefully wipe the chalkboard.

"Uh, I'm supposed to be cleaning," I informed.

"I don't care."

"But-"

He slammed the eraser on the board making white chalk dust fly everywhere. "I told you to get outta here," he growled.

I could sense he was irritated. Since I didn't feel like arguing with him, I obeyed. Walking back to the back of the classroom, I put on my backpack and left.

The way home was a lot peaceful than expected. I chatted with Iida on the entire way. He asked me _Get To Know Eachother_ questions since he claims we can't maximize our friendship if we don't know anything about the other person. It turns out, he tried to join the track-and-field team at his school during 7th grade but they refused to let him in. It wasn't until he beat one of the 3rd years on the team that granted him permission to join. Along with the track team, he's currently a part of the Student Council and the Debate Club. Being in one club already sounds hard enough. I'm glad that my school doesn't require that I be in one.

Todoroki and I watched more Youtube on the train. Since Youtube was on autoplay, we went from watching fluffy cat videos to watching internet conspiracies. I'm not really sure how it happened. It was kind of bizarre but Todoroki was pretty into it. I didn't take him for the type to like that kind of stuff. I made sure to give him some of my curry bread when I left.

Stepping foot into the city, I noticed that it had grown darker from before. The sun was nowhere in sight since the sky was covered with thick clouds. The wind had picked up too, and I shivered to myself as a cold breeze blew. I didn't bring an umbrella today and there's no way I'm taking the bus or taxi, so I'll just hope I don't get caught in a downpour on the way home.

Walking at a faster pace than usual, I scurried home. But as I traveled on my usual route, I was met with an unexpected detour.

"Rin-chan! I haven't seen you in a week!" a certain strawberry hero exclaimed. Jumping down from the roof of the building, he gave me a big hug. "H-how are you doing? Everyone's so worried about you!"

I reassured him that I was fine. However, he didn't seem too convinced. "Rin-chan! It's natural to feel very sad over something like this. It's okay to be upset."

"I told you, I'm fine," I insisted.

"Sorry! But that is a lie! No one would be fine after hearing news about the unexpected passing of an elder brother. You can say that you're fine all you want, but you're not."

I shook my head. I tried to protest but he started talking again.

"In fact, I've been feeling under the weather lately as well. Although I've met Hiro a couple of times, he was a very wonderful person! I cannot imagine what you are feeling right-"

"I said, I'm fine!" I snapped.

Strawberry Shades was taken aback from my sudden outburst. Clenching my jaw, I turned my back against him. "...You...don't have to worry about me. I'm fine."

He watched me walk away without saying another word, as the sky rumbled.

»»—- —-««

"So, how was school?" Mom asked me.

I glanced at the empty seat beside her. And then, back to the one next to me.

"...Where's Dad?"

"H-he's doing...some work right now on the phone. He'll come to eat when he's finished."

I stared at the plate of curry in front of me. Today was a perfect day to eat warm curry. The steam from the meal was warming my cold face that was out in the autumn air. Although it looked appetizing, I didn't want to eat. I didn't feel hungry. I didn't feel anything.

My eyes landed on the extra plates of curry. One was sitting at the spot where Dad sits and the other...

"Er... Why is there an extra plate?" I asked.

Mom abruptly from her chair. She scurried over to the seat beside me. Picking up the plate, she said, "A-ah! My mistake! I wanted to have one last meal with Hiro as a parting gift... He loved curry, you know that."

"It doesn't matter. He's not here. It's not like he can eat it," I mumbled.

Pain flashed in her eyes. Lowering them down to the floor, she silently walked into the kitchen to clean the plate.

I... I'm not hungry right now. I can't eat.

Standing up from the dinner table, I drifted out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Passing by my parents' room, I overheard Dad speaking on the phone to someone.

"You said you were going to tell me everything! ...I know already. No, I don't care. You better...! Just... Damn it... I need to know. Not just for my sake, but for Rin... I see... Alright. I... That bastard! When I get my hands on him, I'll... I-I apologize... But all that just to please the old man? He needs to let it go... I see. Th-thank you, Asuka..."

I assumed he hung up because he went quiet. There was no way that was a business chat, but I didn't care to question it. Going inside my room, I carefully shut the door. Tossing my phone on my bed, I flopped onto my bed, belly first. For a moment, I lied there in the darkness hugging my pillow.

_"I've been keeping an eye on you for a while along with your brother."_

Why am I thinking of that again? Even if I did tell him, it's not like it could've changed anything. He still would've died. Something like that...

A huge pit formed inside my stomach knowing that I was completely wrong.

Suddenly, there was a gentle knock at my door. Following after, I heard Tsuyu speak, "Rin-chan. How are you feeling?"

I didn't reply. I couldn't even if I wanted to. Hearing my silence, she spoke again. "You're not alone in this, Rin-chan. You're important to me. If you need anyone to talk to, I'm here. Please reach out to me if you need anything."

I heard the shuffling of her feet leave my door. Silence filled the room again. It was just me again, alone.

_"School's important, but what's more important right now is your health."_

School's the only thing that can distract me from thinking about him.

_"Hey, hey! Did Hiro-chan come back home yet? When's he comin' back?"_

He's never coming back.

_"I know that no amount of money won't be able to allay your sorrow."_

I don't think anything can make me feel better.

_"It's important for you to depend on family and friends during times of hardship."_

I know that, but I'm always depending on everyone. I'm deadweight.

_"Are...you okay?"_

No, I'm not. I'm not okay. Nothing's okay.

_"Onishi, I'm so sorry for what happened."_

Everyone is. Even myself.

_"It's natural to feel very sad over something like this. It's okay to be upset."_

Why do I feel so guilty when I am?

_"You're not alone in this, Rin-chan."_

But I pushed you away, didn't I?

_"If anything bad happens, call me. Your big brother will come to save-"_

The last time I spoke to him, I hung up on him. If I knew that was the last time I was gonna hear his voice, I would've spoken to him longer. If only I could hear him again...

I reached for my phone that was lying a few inches away. I turned it on and went into my contacts. I scrolled down to Hiro's number. My thumb hovered over his picture. As if my impulses took over, my thumb pressed on his picture. My phone began to dial his number.

What am I doing? It's not like he's going to answer. He's gone. But even so...

"Hello, you reached Onishi Hiro's phone. I'm sorry I wasn't able to answer your call. I'll try my best to get back to you! Feel free to leave a voicemail!"

The sound of the beep was heard shortly after. Without thinking, I began to speak.

"Hey. It's me, uh, Rin. I...I don't even know why I'm doing this. You're not going to hear this message anyway, but..." I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. "I-I... I'm sorry...for always needing your help. Since we were kids, you were always helping me. You stood up for me when no one else did... And... I still remember that promise you made. Y-you said you were going to p-protect me, r...right? And become my quirk? B..but now that you're gone, wh-what now? What am I supposed to do?"

I began to tremble as tears pricked my eyes. Each word that rolled off my tongue made it harder for me to continue.

"I'm weak, y'know? I can hardly keep myself alive. Without you, I'm... I'm powerless. I-I...I can't do anything. Why did you have to leave? Why become a hero? I'm selfish too, y'know that? If you haven't become a hero, you would..."

_"I've been keeping an eye on you for a while along with your brother."_

No. If I remembered these vital words, he would still be alive. It's not his fault that he died.

**It's mine.**

"You're...You're my hero. S-so, I want to say thank you for everything that you've done," I started. "Th...thank you for taking care of me and playing with me, a-and getting angry for me wh-when the older kids would bully me. And...and thank you for worrying about me all the time and saving me from trouble. When...when you came during the Hero Festival, I was so relieved. Everything's alright when you're here but... I don't know what to do since you left. I..."

"You've reached your limit time for your voicemail."

I slowly lowered my phone down, and I shut it off. I sat in silence listening to the sound of rain patter against my window in a rhythm.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

The large drops of water traveled down in a stream. It was cold and felt lonely. Although physically impossible, it made me want to give it a warm hug. At first, it came in droplets, but soon it started rushing down like a raging waterfall. It was almost mesmerizing and somewhat shocking. It felt foreign to me. No matter how much I tried to wipe my tears, they kept leaking out.

_"It's fine now! Why? Because I am here! Your big brother is here to protect you!"_


	23. Three Secrets

The tight-lipped woman stared at the screen in front of her. It showed a map of the surrounding prefecture. There were red glowing points across the board. They each signified possible Crimson Eclipse hideout bases. However, it didn't help that there were more than twenty of them. It was going to be hard to pinpoint the exact location of the right one.

"I wasn't aware you had this much information regarding the Crimson Eclipse, Corvade. You didn't bother sharing it with the police?" Eraserhead muttered, peering over with tired eyes.

"Of course not. If I told the police, the search would be too obvious. They would abandon their base and go to a new one. It'll make the process more tedious."

"Withholding important info like that is selfish," the Rabbit Hero crudely remarked. "But again, I guess that's why you're not a hero."

"That's right. There are some things that I won't be able to do if I were licensed," Corvade smoothly replied. "We're not here to talk about me. Let's stay on topic. The information on their whereabouts isn't definite. These are presumed places me and my crew came up with. There are more than twenty points on this map, and not all of them are actual Crimson Eclipse bases, thus making our search even harder."

"However, some options are better than others. Mitsumu-san, Sir Nighteye-san, and I had narrowed the locations to cause fewer complications during this process," Blackjack added, walking over to the group of heroes. Trailing behind him was the cheery blonde and the spectacled hero.

"Yep! Lucky us, huh? 'Cuse me, Boss Corvade, " Mitsumu chirped.

The woman moved out of the way to give him access to the keyboard. Typing away at lightning speed, everyone watched as the glowing dots began to dwindle in numbers. At the end of it all, only three remained.

"Amazing..." Fatgum mumbled.

Indeed it was. Corvade wasn't expecting Blackjack and Mitsumu to work so diligently. Even she was a bit surprised by how fast they were able to narrow down the locations.

"We believe that the most likely place the hostage is being held is in Esuha City," Blackjack informed.

"It's set then. The gathered heroes will be split into three groups with the majority of the heroes heading to Esuha City. The rest will infiltrate the other locations," the head of the Police Force spoke. "We will initiate the rescue and infiltration in two days."

Corvade peered up at the three red dots that glowed on the map. She pondered if two days was even enough time to prepare, but she understood that time was running out. No one knew what Crimson Eclipse had in mind when kidnapping Onishi Rin a few days earlier. Most likely, they were going to use her as a hostage.

She thought back to that night when she encountered the young girl. As usual, Rin was in trouble. She would've been choked unconscious if she and Ryusaki haven't appeared in time. She still didn't understand why she had the urge to call that old man, but he proved himself capable of diffusing the situation. If he hadn't come, Kiyoshi wouldn't have given a squat about conversing with her and would've run off with the kids.

Corvade was there when she witnessed Rin blast him away. It was a powerful move that she was shocked Rin was able to use at that moment. Rin must've been building up the power to her quirk over time. She did have an irritating habit of getting into trouble, and those life-threatening moments assisted her in strengthening her quirk. Corvade saw it at the festival when she deflected that steel pipe.

It seemed like the young girl didn't know how powerful it was. Kiyoshi must've noticed the potential, and Corvade knew that he would do anything to steal her power.

»»—- —-««

I opened my eyes to a very bright light. Groggily sitting up, I blinked a few times to adjust. Once my eyes focused, I saw that I was in a small room. There were no windows. The walls and floors were made out of white tiles. A dark, heavy, steel door was in front of me. The wall beside me was glass. The bed was the only piece of furniture. Hanging over the bed was shining a fluorescent light.

My bare feet hit the cold floors when I stood up. I peered at myself in the mirror to see that I was wearing a light blue hospital gown. There was a white bandaid on my right arm. The skin around it was turning purple. I reached up and gently touched it with my fingers, and winced.

When did I get this? How did I even get here? All I remember was walking home from school.

"You're awake now," a deep voice suddenly spoke.

I turned around to see that no one was there. I scanned the room for an intercom of some sort but I found nothing. Whoever spoke to me must've sensed my confusion, because he said, "You won't be able to see me. I'm on the other side of the glass."

My eyes flickered back to the mirror in front. This must be like the windows they use in interrogation rooms. "Where...am I?" I asked.

"The exact location, I can't say. You're in a Crimson Eclipse base."

My heart began to beat as I stared into my reflection. I gulped. The man speaking continued. "You've been asleep for about four days now. We might've given you a bit too much of the drug."

"The green one?"

"Bingo," the man said with a hint of amusement. "You know your stuff. As expected of a girl who was present during the demonstration at Nighteye Agency."

"Who are you? Why am I here? What did you do to me?"

The man chuckled. "Slow down there. Take a little breather. I'll tell you everything," he said. "As I said, you're in a Crimson Eclipse base. Four days ago, my members tracked you down. They took you back here where we drew some of your blood for samples. But that isn't the reason why you're here... No, you're here to convince your daddy to come to get you."

So, I'm a hostage. But why is Crimson Eclipse so enthralled with Dad? I asked him. He let out a sigh. "Didn't we have this conversation? We need to have a one-on-one chat about something important."

Events of that night replayed in my head. My heart rate sped up, and I cautiously backed away. "It's you..." I spoke.

"Oh, good. You do remember me, kid," Kiyoshi remarked.

"What's so important that you need to talk to him about?"

"You wouldn't understand, kid. It's adult things," he said.

"No, I can," I spoke in vexation.

He chuckled again. "You're like Ryu, you know that? So is Hiro."

Hearing his name made my heart skip. My muscles tensed and something hot began to grow in my chest. My throat suddenly went dry, and I struggled to swallow. I tried my best not to show him my reaction, but I couldn't hold it in. I lost control of myself, and he took advantage of that.

"I love that expression on your face. It's much better than that boring expression you always wear. Hiro wore the same exact look you have on his face too."

"Be...before you murdered him?" I spoke. "Akira told the police everything... She said that she stalked him and kidnapped him. After he refused to join your cult, you murdered him."

"Murdered him? That's a bit cruel. I wouldn't do that. Well, not to someone that important," Kiyoshi said, sounding offended. "You must be mistaken. Yes, I sent Akira to track him down; Yes, we kidnapped him. However, I did not kill him."

"Th-then what? Did Akira kill him?"

"She didn't."

"What happened then? Why's he dead?" I demanded, with my face flushing red. "He's dead because of you!"

Tears pricked my eyes and I lowered them to the ground, biting my lip. For a moment, I stood there against the glass trying to hold back tears. I would think that I got rid of them only for my eyes to water again. I resorted to keeping my eyes shut to prevent any tears from slipping down.

"I did not kill him. Akira didn't kill him. None of Crimson Eclipse did," Kiyoshi spoke.

"Stop! J-Just...stop."

He let out a tired sigh as if my temper was an annoyance to him. "Dealing with kids is difficult. I don't even know why Ryu had one," he complained. "Listen, would you? I wasn't aware that Hiro was killed until last week. I'm a bit pissed that he was killed. That wasn't supposed to happen. We were just supposed to kidnap him and use him as a hostage, but others decided to interrupt us. I'll tell you who's responsible for it."

"Leave me alone..."

"Are you sure?" he said, his voice rising. "You really don't want to know how Hiro died? Who his killers are?"

No. Akira confessed. She said that Crimson Eclipse was responsible for his death. Though, she didn't specifically say that they killed him... What happened then? Maybe he was telling the truth. But he wasn't exactly trustworthy either. This is all so...

My thoughts were disembodied; all jumbled up. I wasn't sure what to think or feel. What if he was truthful? What if he's lying? Due to my hesitating silence, Kiyoshi was quick to jump back into the conversation.

"I'm sure you heard of them. They're the biggest threat to Hero Society, The League of Villains," he began. "It was essential that Crimson Eclipse affiliate ourselves with such a powerful group. Thanks to their aid, we were able to gather sufficient resources and powerful weapons. It wasn't all for free, of course. In exchange for their services, they required that we bring at least fifteen quirk-users to them at the end of each month. On the day of Hiro's kidnapping, some of their members came to visit. Seeing his refusal to join Crimson Eclipse and the power of his quirk, they decided to take him with them. We retaliated a bit but ultimately, I decided that it was best we let them do as they please. Unfortunately, they were vital to our goal."

"The purpose of his capture was to use him as a hostage and possibly have him join Crimson Eclipse. If didn't join, we were going to take his quirk. But trust me when I say this: I had no intention of ending Hiro's life when we brought him here."

I stood there in silence to give myself time to sort out my thoughts. I was still hesitant to trust his words. He sensed that because he said, "I have proof. I can show you what played out that day. Open the door."

The sounds of a steel beam getting lifted up from the door were heard. It clattered onto the ground. Then, the heavy door creaked opened. A tall, pale, man wearing a maroon blazer with a white shirt underneath. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows to expose the tattoo of a bleeding viper and a crescent moon. Towering behind him was the Crescent Reaper. He wore his long, maroon coat with heavy dark boots. A white mask with a red crescent moon was over his face. A black hood covered his head. He looked eerie standing in the dark, as the outside was very dim compared to how bright it was in my room. A bad feeling formed in my stomach seeing them.

The two men stepped to the side to make room for me to pass. Kiyoshi beckoned me to come out. He promised that he wasn't going to lay a finger on me. With no other choice, I stepped out of my cell and into the darkness. He began to walk toward the elevator that was a couple of feet away. Pressing to go up, we stepped into the elevator. It took a moment to reach the ground floor, and we stepped into a bustling hallway. I noticed the elevator door that we went through disappeared into the wall. It was nearly indistinguishable.

The base looked almost identical to the one I accidentally raided months ago. The walls and the ground were the same muted, dark gray color. Long fluorescent fixtures ran across the ceiling and red lights were spaced out on the walls. The floor made a metallic clank when people walked. The place reminded me of an underground nuclear shelter.

The three of us strolled through the base that was littered with Crimson Eclipse members. It was weird; the way they acted made me almost forget that they were an evil organization trying to wipe out people. Some chatted with their co-workers on the side, some walked by drinking coffee, and others hurriedly sped down the hall to whatever duties they had to attend. I even saw a line of people waiting for the vending machine. Most of them greeted Kiyoshi but they didn't bother to acknowledge me or the Crescent Reaper. A few did give me disapproving glances, though.

Kiyoshi turned the corner and led us to a secluded corridor. The black steel doors surrounded me. It was dimmer in this place too. He suddenly halted to a stop and turned his heels to a door to the right. A red light scanned his face before opening the door. The door sealed shut behind me.

The inside of the room looked like an office, a dark one. Everything was black and gray with the occasional red trimming to add contrast. Up ahead was a dark gray desk with a bright red chair. A very expensive and elaborate monitor was resting on the desk. There was a tan woman sitting at the desk. She had curly, white hair that reached a bit pass her pointed ears. She was wearing a loose latex jacket with a black shirt underneath, a bandana, and a long skirt with heels.

"Boss. I wasn't expecting you to show up. I thought you were planning for your departure," the woman spoke as we walked up to her desk. The woman peered over to me with her topaz-colored eyes. They lingered there for a moment before glancing back to Kiyoshi. "Was there something that you needed?"

"Yes. Can you show our guest what happened the day Kurogiri appeared?"

She stood up from her seat. Coming to me, she pressed her fingers on my forehead. Her eyes began to glow. Shortly after, the office morphed into the room I was in except it was empty. There were two Crimson Eclipse members holding a weakened Hiro down onto the floor. Around Hiro's wrists and ankles were chains that he was trying to escape from. With his strong build, he probably could break out of them. As he continued to resist, the chains suddenly glowed bright red. Hiro let out a pained grunt as the steaming metal burned his bare skin. However, I found that no sound came out. Seeing him in that state made my stomach drop. It made me painfully sick. I wanted to reach out or say something but found that I wasn't in control. That's when I noticed that I grew taller and I was wearing a Crimson Eclipse uniform.

I must be looking at the event through that lady's perspective.

The room around me grew fuzzy and ringing resounded in my ears. As if someone changed the speed with a tv remote, everyone in the room began to move in hyperspeed. I saw Hiro getting punched by the members, along with Akira speaking to him. Kiyoshi even walked into the room to talk to Hiro too. Changing the speed back to normal, I saw that there were two new men in the room.

The first man caught my eye. He was thin and had grubby, light blue hair that looked like it hasn't been washed in days. He wore plain black long-sleeved shirt and black pants. What disturbed me about his appearance was the array of hands that were wrapped around his arms, shoulders, his face. They were gray and old; almost as if they were in the process of decomposition. The other man was slim as well. His body was made out of dark purple mist. He had glowing yellow eyes. Around his neck was a metal brace. He wore a dark suit and tie.

I couldn't tell with that morbid hand plastered on his face, but I think the one with the uncanny appearance said something. Kiyoshi, Akira, and the lady peered at him. Kiyoshi in particular gave the guy with hands a dirty look. There was a shadow cast on his pale face, and his fist was curled into a tight ball.

Kiyoshi began speaking, expectedly, with no sound. Akira added a few words, and the two men replied back. Whatever they said didn't sit well with Kiyoshi because the bitter expression on his face grew. He began to protest with whatever the two men were suggesting. Hiro tried to voice his opinion on the matter but he was shut up by the flaming chains. Akira got fed up with the discussion and attempted to blast the blue-haired man with a lightning bolt. The mist man made a small vortex appear that the bolt went surging into. Another vortex appeared behind his partner, and he backed into it. In an instant, another vortex popped beside her. The blue-haired guy placed his hand on her neck. I expected her to fight back but she didn't. Everyone in the room stopped, and they didn't move an inch.

Kiyoshi ordered the two Crimson grunts to let go of Hiro. The disgruntled man let go of Akira's neck and walked over to Hiro. Placing his hand on his arm, I watched in horror was Hiro's arm turned to ashes. Even without sound, I could practically feel Hiro's pain in his voice. The man made of mist summoned a dark hole behind him and his partner. His partner left the scene. Meanwhile, the mist man sauntered over to Hiro and dragged him into the dark hole. Even amidst the pain, Hiro was trying to fight back, but it was futile. The vortex closed behind them.

Within seconds, I was back inside the office. The lady's eyes stopped glowing, and she removed her fingers from my forehead. She stepped away.

"Thank you, Lens," Kiyoshi spoke. The woman gave him a small bow. Kiyoshi made his way out of the room, and I followed with the Crescent Reaper trailing me.

We made our way back to my cell room. Once arriving, Kiyoshi spoke. "I was telling the truth. We didn't kill your brother. It was the League of Villains. You saw, didn't you? The man who destroyed your brother's arm. What he did to Hiro at that moment must've been painful. Who knows what they did when they took him. He must've suffered before he died. If it weren't for Shigaraki Tomura, your brother would still be alive."

Like pouring water on a toaster, my brain was fried and overloaded that caused me to break. My stomach churned, and my body temperature rose. My hands began to slightly tremble as I gripped the sides of my gown. I tried to speak but when I opened my mouth, a flurry of incomprehensible words rolled out.

I flickered my wide eyes at him. Seeing my distaste, he said, "I understand how you feel. I've gone through the exact thing. When the leader of Venom's Bane perished, I was furious. All I wanted to do is wrap my hands around her neck and watch the life drain out of her eyes. I wanted revenge, but I knew that being hasty wasn't going to help." His ghostly gaze peered down at me. "I know what you're thinking. You want to avenge Hiro."

Chills ran up my back recalling the scene that had played moments ago. Hiro's arm was completely demolished in a second. It hurt seeing how hard he tried to fight back knowing that he was meeting his impending death. I wish she didn't show me that. Seeing Hiro in his last moments made me feel sick. But I also felt anger fueling. Shigaraki was ruthless for using his quirk on Hiro like that and dragging him away.** He murdered him.**

"Why don't you join Crimson Eclipse? We could use someone with that kind of power of yours."

"Power? I have no power..." I quietly spoke.

Kiyoshi raised an eyebrow at me. He let out a small chuckle. "Did you forget what you did to me that night? You blasted me away from that kid. If that doesn't speak power, then what does?"

But without him, I am nothing.

"Let's make a deal. If you join Crimson Eclipse, I promise that I'll help you avenge your brother."

I couldn't believe myself, but hearing those words piqued my interest. Kiyoshi could tell it did because he continued. "You and I are in similar situations. In order to achieve my goal, I need to get rid of Shigaraki Tomura. If you abandon everything and come with me, I'll help you and you'll help me. We'll both benefit from each other."

He leaned down to my ear. "I know you feel constricted. Weak. Powerless. Unable to control your life. I assure you, if you come with me, I'll give you meaning. You'll feel freer than you ever been in your entire life. I'll make you strong. I'll give you power."

He backed away and waited for my answer. I stood there in silence trying to sort out the mess of emotions I was feeling. I was so angry that I was shaking. I was on the verge of exploding and letting everything go. I was tired of feeling trapped. I was tired of feeling weak. I was tired of being powerless. I didn't want to be a victim anymore.

"You don't have to answer right now. This is probably the biggest choice you'll ever make in your life," Kiyoshi spoke. He turned around and walked out of the room. The Crescent Reaper stood for a moment as if he was inspecting my face before following his leader. The heavy metal door slammed shut behind them leaving me alone with my heavy thoughts.

»»—- —-««

Corvade stared at the buffet that rested at the bottom of the hill. It was family-owned. The building had an old and traditional feel to it as the building looked like it was pulled out of the Edo period. The front door was a simple sliding door with red lanterns were hanging by the entrance. A few cars were parked in the street.

The operation was beginning today. She didn't think it was possible, but the authorities were able to make a solid plan in two days. She figured that was one of the advantages of working in large groups; more work could be done more quickly.

As commanded by the Head of the Police Force, the heroes were split into three groups with the majority of them focused on the location in Esuha, which happened to be the place Corvade as at. Blackbird was included in the split: Blackjack and Static went to Fukuoka, Mitsumu and Masterbaiter went to Hosu City. Strawberry Shades and Furutani stayed with her in Esuha.

"This is the place where Rin-chan is at," the strawberry hero whispered. He curled his fist into a ball in frustration. "Don't worry, we're coming for you!"

His gloomy companion let out a heavy sigh. She commented that their efforts may be futile because Rin might not even be at this location. Even so, the strawberry hero continued to keep a positive demeanor. He assured that he knew that Rin was here.

The rescue was about to begin in a few minutes. The authorities were conducting their final preparations. As Corvade waited, she thought back to the conversation she had last week.

_ "You said you were going to tell me everything!"_ _Ryusaki said over the phone._

_ "I got caught up in some business. Ever since your son disappeared, I've been trying to figure out what happened to him, so could you refrain from speaking to me like that? You're not the only one who's pissed over this."_

_ He fell silent. Then in a quiet voice, he said, "...I know already."_

_ "I won't be able to tell you," she spoke. "There's no time."_

_ "No, I don't care. You better-"_

_ "I told you, there's no time!" she snapped. "I need to figure out Crimson Eclipse's next move. They killed your son, and who knows what they will do to the rest of your family? Besides, if I tell you this, they'll definitely try to kill you too."_

_ "Just... Damn it... I need to know," he said in frustration. "Not just for my sake, but for Rin..."_

_ Corvade let out a tired sigh. She hated hearing the desperation in his voice. He always had a way of making her feel bad. _

_ In the end, she told him everything that she dug up: about Crimson Eclipse, their leader, the presumed bases, and why they kidnapped Hiro. _

_ "I see... Alright. I..."_

_ "You... You do know that Kiyoshi is responsible for this, correct? He's been trying to find ways to force you to join him for months."_

_"That bastard!" Ryusaki cursed. "When I get my hands on him, I'll... I-I apologize... But all that just to please the old man? He needs to let it go..."_

_ "He's always been stubborn. In a way, he's just like you," Corvade remarked. But again, she was stubborn too. Kiyoshi was practically a brother to them, so of course, her mannerism got influenced by him. _

_"I see..." he bitterly replied. _

_ "I have to leave," she informed. She prepared to hang up when he spoke._

_ "Th-thank you, Asuka..."_

_ If there's another thing she hated about him, it was hearing him when he was vulnerable. It made a pit form inside her stomach. It made her feel a bit guilty that she wasn't able to allay his worries right away. She would never admit it out loud, but she really did care for him and his family._

"Corvade," a gruff voice spoke.

She turned to see a pale man with scraggly black hair. He was wearing a long scarf around his neck.

"Are you ready? We're about to begin," Eraserhead informed.

Corvade gave him a silent nod. He walked away from her to go speak to one of the policemen.

_"Together, we can track down her offspring and finally take revenge. All you have to do is abandon everything and come with me."_

That annoying man. He still can't let it go, can he? He's always had a problem with getting too attached to people. He's just as stubborn as his friend, so there was no way he was changing his mind. She wasn't able to save Hiro, but she still had a chance of saving Rin. She couldn't afford to lose any more family.


	24. The Darkest Light

I stared at myself in the reflection. I didn't realize it until now, but I didn't look so great. I don't know how much blood they drained, but it was enough to make the bags under my eyes noticeable. My hair needed a good comb, and I was in desperate need of some chapstick.

_"Let's make a deal. If you join Crimson Eclipse, I promise that I'll help you avenge your brother."_

I knew that he was trying to manipulate me for his own gains. Everything about his offer was terrible. Why would I join Crimson Eclipse, an evil cult that wants to wipe out the weak? Why would I want to follow him, the one who assaulted two kids in the street and kidnapped Hiro? Why would I want to kill another human being?

**Human being? No, that villain wasn't human. He murdered my brother.**

I sat down on the bed staring at my bare feet. My head hurt from all this thinking. I wasn't sure how to feel. What was I supposed to do? I doubt he'll let me go scot-free. No matter if I accepted Kiyoshi's offer or not, I was going to be stuck here.

**Thump...thump...thump...**

Even so, my heart began to beat faster. A wave of vigor overcame me. I had the sudden urge to get up and call out to him because, for the first time in my life, I found something that I wanted to achieve. Something that I wanted to do. His offer enticed me; it fueled a strong emotion inside of me that I always wanted to experience. I never wanted to let go of it, even if it hurts.

**I've never felt so alive.**

I could feel my blood pulse through my entire body. I was nervous, so very nervous that I began to tremble. Or...was it excitement? Whatever it was, I didn't care. All that matters is finding Shigaraki.

But before I could, the world began to shake. My bedpost rattled on the floors, and my body jiggled on the bed. I heard a loud crash from the floor above followed by a horde of footsteps and voices. Something was happening. An attack? Or maybe...a rescue?

»»—- —-««

"Prepare to be planted!" Strawberry Shades exclaimed. A brown seed shot out of his palm and into the villain's face. Sprinting up to him, the hero expertly jumped up. He used his face as a stepping stool and flew up in the air. Locking his eyes onto a Crimson Eclipse member, he dove straight toward them and knocked them to the ground.

"Heroes are infiltrating! Grab the supplies and run!" the Crimson Eclipse announcing through the intercom warned. "There's no time to fight back! Head to the tunnels and-"

Before he could finish, the sound of a door getting kicked down is heard. After some sounds of struggle, a loud and jubilant voice spoke.

"Hey, y'all! I'm unlocking all the doors!"

Corvade who had just finished assisting Strawberry Shades, winced. Can Present Mic speak even louder? Peering in the hallway, she recalled that the layout of the base was similar to the one the heroes raided months ago. That'll help in maneuvering through the place much easier. However, even after more Crimson Eclipse grunts came and time passed, there were still no signs of the girl.

"What's the current situation on the rescue?" Corvade asked through the earpiece.

"According to a Crimson Eclipse, they are holding Onishi Rin somewhere in this facility," Gunhead replied amidst fighting. "We're still trying to pinpoint the exact location. But since Present Mic and others have raided the Control Room, we may be able to find where she's at."

So it seems like their hypothesis was correct; she was in here somewhere. As Corvade ran through the hall full of heroes and villains, she asked Present Mic on Rin's potential whereabouts. He (loudly) informed her that there were several secret rooms hidden in the facility. Many of them are already getting checked out by heroes.

"Hey! I need one of you to come with me! I was given orders to gather some heroes up to check out a room that the hostage might be at!" the Chivalrous Hero: Crimson Riot piped.

"Strawberry Shades," Corvade spoke, smoothly dodging a whirl of sharp leaves. She sent the leaves flying back at the attacker, who tried to dodge it. In the process, another hero knocks her down with a cement block. The strawberry hero turned toward his boss.

"On it!" Strawberry Shades bubbly replied. He scampered over to Crimson Riot and they both ran down the left hall.

"Present Mic. Are they any other locations that Rin may be held captive at?" Corvade questioned.

"Yes ma'am! There's one on the opposite side of the base!"

Present Mic began giving directions to Corvade as she speedily ran through the base while assisting some heroes on the way. She spotted a particular gloomy gal fighting from her usual dark corner and ordered her to tag along. As they ran through, a voice buzzed into their radios.

"Requesting backup in the cafeteria!"

What a coincidence. The two women just happened to be heading straight toward the cafeteria. It didn't take long for them to arrive.

Unlike the dark and somewhat unnerving design of the hallways, the cafeteria was much lighter. The walls were white with red paneling plastered onto the walls. Rows of white tables with black chairs were flipped over the floor. Along with that, three other heroes were laying unconscious. Standing in the middle was a tall and lanky man. He didn't look too muscular. From the looks of it, Corvade assumed he was an Emitter.

"Be on your guard," she spoke. She pulled out her lightweight baton and the two girls sprint over.

The tall and lanky man zips up to Corvade ready to pack a punch. With a quick swipe, his arm gets pulled back, and she jabs her baton into his stomach. Thanks to his thin build, he moved with such speed that she didn't have time to redirect his attack. Grappling her arms, he pulled her over his head and attempted to smash her into the ground.

Furutani's dark arm grabs his lean arms. With the attack occurring, that gave Corvade time to wrap her long legs around his throat. When he let go, she flipped herself backward sending the man toward the ground. As expected, he wasn't going down with one blow, and Corvade and Furutani both went on guard as the villain staggers toward them.

"You underestimate me. You think I'm going down with a measly hit like that?" he growled, with blood dripping down his forehead. "You're never going to find the girl!"

He began to clash against the two women with Corvade packing as many hits as she could and Furutani supporting her from the side. Corvade noticed that with each swing, it was getting harder to deflect the force of his palms. Physically, he didn't look strong. It's almost like he was applying some sort of outside pressure to his fists.

"Boss, go..." Furutani rasped, as she blocked an attack with her shadow arm. "I...will hold him off. So please...find Onishi...chan..."

Corvade hated running away. There was no way she was going to let her underling become bait. The bodies that littered the ground didn't convince her either. But when she looked at her, the usual solemn and melancholic look on her gray face was gone. Instead, her black eyes lit up in determination and they gleamed with trust.

Corvade let out a sigh. Seeing the rare expression on Furutani's face, Corvade had no choice but to comply. Besides, this is what working in a team is all about. Even after forming Blackbird seven years ago, she sometimes still struggled with the concept of teamwork.

"Fine. You better hold him off."

Furutani opened her heavy cloak as the darkness inside began to swell. "I'll give you time."

"Where did you think she's going?! She's not going anywhere!" the villain exclaimed.

On cue, a cloud of pitch black covered the entire area. Corvade felt Furutani's hand pushed her out of the cloud and back into the light. Corvade ran through the hallway pushing down any Crimson Eclipse grunts that got in her way.

"Present Mic. You said there was an elevator hidden in the wall. Where is it?" she asked through her earpiece.

"You're spot on, lady!" his shrill voice chirped. "So what you gotta do is take a left!"

Corvade turned to see a Crimson Eclipse waiting for her. He went to slice her with his long claws when a bullet pummels him into the ground. Corvade speedily ran pass him, while Gunhead gave her a reassuring thumbs-up.

"And then, you gotta go down the stairs!"

Skidding to a stop, she saw that a group of Crimson Eclipse was gathered at the bottom. Seeing her make her appearance, they turned to her ready to attack. Corvade sprinted forward and leaped up as a flurry of pebbles, water, and fire charged at her. Using her quirk, she deflected the attacks and sent them flying back at them. Crimson Eclipse members got hit while others continue to barrage her with attacks. She began stepping on their heads to get across.

"We got you covered, Corvade!" she heard Gunhead say from the stairs. "Duck!"

She lowered her head just as a block of cement flew over. Instead of crashing into the wall, it stayed in place. Stepping on another villain's face, Corvade jumped onto the floating cement block and smoothly landed behind the crowd. Peering back, she saw that Gunhead was with several other heroes. The one who assisted her, Rock Lock, gave her a stern but trusting nod. Corvade turned back and sprinted off.

"Where next?" she asked, looking around her. She was in another hallway that looked exactly the same as the one before. She didn't see any signs of an elevator.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Present Mic's voice blared. His ear-piercing screech made the inside of her ears ring, and Corvade winced once more. "Go back a bit! About four steps!"

She did as she was told. Her heels clicked on the metal floors as she turned toward the walls. There was nothing. She let out an annoyed huff. "Where is it?" she demanded.

"What's with the upset face? Smile, lady! Let out a battle cry to pump you up!"

He was met with complete silence as she peered up at the black camera that was sitting on the ceiling. She gave him a look of disapproval. "You're no fun, my gal! Just like Eraserhead!" Present Mic piped not at all affected by her lack of vigor. "Anyway, I'll open it for you!"

The wall that Corvade was standing in front of suddenly began to dissemble as a steel elevator emerged. It let out a _ding! _The raven hero went inside. To her surprise, there were no buttons to press for the floors. There was only one, which she assumed was for closing the door. She didn't get the chance to test that theory because the door closes immediately after walking in.

"Here we go!" Present Mic excitedly said. The elevator began to descend before the sound of electricity crackling occurred, shaking the entire elevator. The light flickered off and the elevator groaned to a stop.

Corvade pressed her earpiece and asked him why it wasn't moving. He replied but incomprehensibly. She figured it was due to how deep underground she was. Since the elevator wasn't working, she was going to have to find another way down. Standing on top of the metal railings lined on the walls, she began to pry the air duct on the ceiling with her baton. Within seconds, it popped off and she climbed up into even darker blackness. Luckily her baton was equipped with light, and it illuminated throughout the pitfall. Then without hesitation, she jumped off.

Pulling out her zipline device, she sent it surging on the wall near the doorway. It latched just as she neared the ground. Then shooting an explosion at the steel door in front from the tip of her baton, she swung into a dimly lit room and nearly got hit by a flying boomerang when disconnecting her zipline. Smoothly avoiding the attack by kneeling on the ground, she watched as the boomerang flew back at a red-clothed man. He held a long, black bladed weapon his right hand and the boomerang in his left. Obscuring his face was a white mask with a red moon. There was a glass window behind him looking into a very bright room. Inside was a white bed and Onishi Rin.

"They were quick to create another Crescent Reaper, weren't they?" Corvade muttered numbly, standing up. She flipped the switch on her baton and it extended. "What a pain."

The Crescent Reaper charges at her. He swings his weapon at her neck at a frightening speed. However, Corvade steps back and ducks toward his torso. She goes to jab his stomach when his boomerang comes flying at her. When did he throw that? But she didn't have time to think about that. On cue, the boomerang lowers and grazes her chin. While that happened, the Crescent Reaper knees her in the chest. The air was knocked out of her lungs but nevertheless, she could still fight.

With the help of his knee that sent her upward, she used that as leverage to hit him in the chin. Her head collided with his chin, and he stumbled back. She sends a flurry of baton attacks that the Crescent Reaper avoided and blocked. Then flipping backward, he pulls out a dagger and hurls it at her midair. Activating her quirk, it surges left and she catches it with her hand. She sends it back at him. It grazes the side of his mask and hits the window behind him. A crack formed in the glass.

She peers at Rin whose back was facing them. She found it strange that she wasn't acknowledging the commotion outside her cell. Was it soundproof? Whatever it was, Corvade didn't have the time fighting this villain. Their top priority was rescuing Rin.

"Playtime is over. Now if you'll excuse me," Corvade spoke. Within a second, Corvade surges pass the villain and jumped through the window. Glass shattered everywhere but not a shard pierced her pale skin. Upon landing in the room, she heard static muffling in her ear.

"Cor... We... Locate... The..." Eraserhead's voice crackled.

"I cannot understand," Corvade replied.

The sound of power charging was heard. She heard the elevator begin to descend down to the floor. Along with that, Eraserhead's voice became clear. "We have found Onishi Rin. She's being held by a Crimson Eclipse. We require backup, immediately."

"What? She's here with me."

That's when she noticed that something looked off about the girl. Marching over, she inspected her. Her body looked hazy and fuzzy, almost as if it was a casted image. Swiping her hand across her face, Corvade's hand went through her body.

Eraserhead's voice came back on the radio. "What are you talking about?"

Before she could reply, she spotted the Crescent Reaper standing in the elevator. In his hand was a button. Upon clicking it, she heard the sounds of a timer begin to tick. Sprinting through the broken window, she attempted to reach the elevator but was too late. The heavy doors shut on her, and it began to ascend.

The ticking began to quicken. Corvade speedily inspected the room for any kind of bomb she could deactivate. But as she searched, she couldn't find anything. She let out a curse.

"Corvade? Are you still here?"

"Yes, I am," she replied as she stood at the edge of the empty doorway. It was way too late for her to latch onto the elevator now. She was going to have to aim as high as the zipline could reach. The line flew out of her device and into the darkness. The sharp pins latched onto the wall. "There's a bomb that's about to explode, so prepare for the aftershock."

"What-"

The ticking stopped and when it did, the underground cell and the shaft went up in flames.

»»—- —-««

Another explosion was heard, this time from underneath me. The ground rattled under my bare feet making it difficult to run. It didn't help that the villain clutching my arm was holding it with all her strength. It hurt when she pulled.

When the first explosion happened, I was immediately taken out of my cell. The heroes have somehow found our location. They weren't letting me go just yet, so I was to escape by taking the emergency tunnels that lead out somewhere safer. A Crimson Eclipse with particularly oily skin fetched me. By exiting through secret stairs hidden in the room next to my cell, we climbed up into the ground floor and made our escape.

It was surreal running through the base. Heroes and Crimson Eclipse members were battling each other all because of me. I've been a hostage a handful of times but this rescue was intense. Seeing how hard people worked to protect me kind of made me feel validated.

I don't know about this anymore... Is joining Crimson Eclipse the best idea? But when I thought back to the images that the lady showed me, it made my chest hurt. The way Hiro desperately fought back against the League of Villains made me sick. Not to mention, the inaudible scream that followed when that monster disintegrated his arm. There really is no other way. Despite their best efforts, the authorities haven't been unable to track down the League of Villains. If I stay here, I know exactly where they're at. Where he's at.

She pulled me through the Great Hall. The entire place was empty. It was only the two of us. It was somewhat uncomfortable hearing our heavy breaths and rapid footsteps. But then, voices and footsteps began to echo from behind. A flurry of seeds come in our direction, and the villain holding me pushes me down. We both avoid getting hit. Turning around, I saw three heroes coming our way: Crimson Riot, Eraserhead, and...

The look Strawberry Shades gave me heavied my heart. His expression said "relief" but screamed "anger". The usual shining grin on his face was gone. Instead, his lips were formed into a thin line. It unsettled me how serious he looked.

"You... What do you think you're doing with Rin?" Strawberry Shades asked in a low voice.

The Crimson Eclipse member muttered bitterly. She cursed that she was alone during this time and wondered where the rest of the people were at.

"It's simple! They were defeated by us, the heroes!" Crimson Riot boldly exclaimed, throwing his fist back. He missed the shot, and the villain sprayed a jet of oil from her palms. As Strawberry Shades came up, she began to ready another jet when nothing came out. That's when she noticed that Eraserhead was staring directly at her with glowing, red eyes.

Crimson Riot's hair turned black and he headbutts the villain. Following up, Strawberry Shades jabs a giant seed into her left side.

They're saving me. I'm going to be rescued, aren't I? It annoyed me so much. Especially Strawberry Shades. He was here to save me for the thousandth time. That's right; he's always coming to my rescue. I'm just heavy baggage. Deadweight. Joining Crimson Eclipse, Kiyoshi promised he'll give me power. He promised to tell me everything about my unknown quirk. **He**'**ll make me strong.**

My body moved on its own. Turning around, I bolted away from the fight and toward the exit. They were all shocked by my sudden escape, and Eraserhead ordered Strawberry Shades to follow me.

My bare feet slapped the cold, steel floors as I sprinted down the hall. I had no idea where I was supposed to go but I kept running. Strawberry Shades was getting closer and closer to me by the second. He called out to me. "Rin! Stop! I'm here to save you!"

I didn't reply or look back. I kept on running even despite his protests and the burning in my legs. I was so tired. I just want to go to sleep. Then, I heard the sounds of tiny seeds approaching me from behind.

**There's no way he's stopping me.**

There was no impact. The seeds made a metallic sound as they bounced off the walls. One even skidded right beside me.

"What are you doing? Stop!" he pleaded.

It took a bit longer than expected for him to catch up. When he did, he tackled me onto the floor. It hurt, and the fact that he had an athletic build didn't ease it. I tried to wriggle out of his grasps as he tried to hold me still.

"Why are you trying to run away? Did they do something to your head?" he asked. "Rin-chan, stop! Don't you see? It's me, Strawberry Shades! I'm the fabulous hero that you met on the train! And the one who rescued you from those hotdogs! Remember the time at the beach? And the sing-off! You must remember the sing-off, for sure! You absolutely demolished the host!

I ignored him and kneed in the crotch. He yelped out in pain. That loosened the grip on my wrists and I scrambled away. I didn't get very far because his rubber gloves wrapped around my ankle and pulled me back. He staggered over to me and lifted me. He began to stiffly walk me back to the Great Hall.

"Wren Inc? The building collapsed, didn't it? But you got saved! How about the Hero Festival? I came right in time, twice, actually! You helped me take out those villains, and you tried to drag me to safety!"

Memories of the Hero Festival replayed in my head. I saw the image of Strawberry Shade's reassuring grin along with the worn-out face he wore when battling the Crimson Eclipse villainess.

"Don't you remember?" Strawberry Shades said. "That was the first time you called me your friend!"

"Of course I remember!" I snapped. I stopped resisting, and he halted. My heart was beating so fast that it began to hurt. Sweat stained my face and back. I hung my head low. "How could I forget? I remember everything."

"S-so why did you run away?" he asked. "Why were you trying to escape?"

"Don't you see? I wanted to."

He fell silent for a moment. I spoke. "...I'm going to join Crimson Eclipse," I started. "I know who killed Hiro. Kiyoshi wants that villain dead too. He said he'll help me avenge him. He'll give me strength and power... I'm not going to be dead weight anymore. I'm not going to be a victim, s-so...you don't have to save me anymore."

"No! That is a terrible idea! That villain is manipulating you! He's taking advantage of your frail health."

"You don't understand! I saw who killed Hiro! I-I-I saw how he died, okay? You're a hero. You're supposed to know how it feels to give villains what they deserve."

"Killing that villain isn't going to bring back Hiro!"

**Thump. Thump. Thump.**

My throat tightened. The blood rushed up to my cheeks as my eyes moistened. I bit my lip, frustratingly. "Just...let me be. Stop worrying about me all the time."

He stood there for a moment. Then, he lowered me down on the ground. My toes touched the metal floors. Turning around, I was given the chance to finally look at him. His previous cross expression disappeared. Through his cat-eyed sunglasses, his eyes were wide in shock. The corners of his lips were turned down. His thick eyebrows were scrunched together and his face flushed. I never knew that such a look was able to make me feel so terrible. It made me freeze.

"Rin... It pains me seeing you like this. I know you're hurting a lot," he softly spoke. "You're my precious friend. I cherish our friendship and the magnificent moments we spend together."

I began to shake my head in protest. "N-no... No! I...I'm not even that special," I began. with a tremor in my voice. "I'm nothing without him! Hiro, h-he...he was...he was the reason why I was strong. N-now, he's gone!"

I ran past him but he grabbed me. I tried to pry his hand off but he held a monster grip.

"You have a habit of demeaning your worth! You are quite amazing!" he started. "Your eerily collected temperament is something I am jealous of along with the ability to keep a clear head during the chaos! Oddly, you have a way of calming me down with your presence alone. You always give it your all and even when you fail, you still get up and try again. Not to mention, your helpful nature."

I tugged and pulled and even tried hitting his crotch again, but it was no use. He wasn't letting me go anywhere. I stopped fighting and let my arm go limp. Strawberry Shades's eyes stared at me as he spoke. "You claim that you dislike conflict, but yet I always see you running into it...purposefully," he started. "Rin, you're much more heroic than you think."

The hero gave me a gentle yet deflated smile. "You may think you're not special, or outstanding, or anyone at all, but I do. Blackbird does. Your friends do. Your dad and mom think so... And I know Hiro did."

The fueling fire inside of me began to die down. My heart still hurts but not because I was angry. I trembled as I swallowed dryly. I was on the brink of spilling over and so were the tears that had pooled in my eyes. I lowered my head down in shame.

Suddenly, the entire building began to tremble. Strawberry Shades wrapped his arms around me to keep me on balance. The lights began to quickly flicker around us as Strawberry Shades spoke to the other heroes through his earpiece. I couldn't hear what they were speaking about amidst all the rumbling but the concerned expression on his face was enough to say. Turning back to me, he informed me that the base was going to collapse and if we didn't get out of here in time, we were toast. He began to pull me back to the Great Hall when I stopped him.

"W-we won't make it in time," I said. "There's another exit; through the tunnels. I think it's just up ahead."

His eyes lingered on me for a moment. Then clicking his earpiece, he informed them that we were going to escape through another way.

The two of us sprinted down the hallway the best we could. It was difficult too with all the tremors and the flickering lights. It didn't take long for us to reach a small intersection with two lanes on the right and left. There was a large, gaping hole in the wall. It looked like a sewer tunnel without all the gunk.

"In here!" Strawberry Shades said, beckoning me inside. I climbed inside and onto my knees. The tunnel wasn't exactly the most comfortable. If it already was for me, I couldn't imagine how bad it was for Strawberry Shades. However, as I scooted inside to give him room to climb in, a black boomerang comes flying at him. He smoothly dodged it, and I went closer to get a better view.

Standing in front of Strawberry Shades was the Crescent Reaper. Seeing him stand there as the whole world trembled and in the dim light made chills run down my back. The bladed weapon in his hand glowed red. He slowly turned to look at me.

"Stay away, villain!" Strawberry Shades exclaimed, shooting a seed at him. The Crescent Reaper sliced it apart with his blade. Strawberry Shades sprinted up to him and punched him in the gut. "Go!"

I immediately turned around and scrambled into the darkness. I could barely see my fingers as I crawled away. The villain's burning blade and seeds echoed through the tunnel. The base shook and groaned. I lost my balance. I face-planted into the cold metal accidentally biting my tongue in the process. The metallic taste of blood began to fill my mouth.

I peered behind me at the light. I couldn't see much, but they were definitely still battling. The Crescent Reaper was swinging his blade as Strawberry Shades avoided getting burned.

A deafening crash filled the air and the sounds of a wall breaking resounded. The base wasn't going to hold, and Strawberry Shades was still back there.

I can't go back to him. I can't return to my old life anymore. I needed to abandon everything in order to find Shigaraki.

**I'm sorry Strawberry Shades, Blackbird, Todoroki, Tsuyu, Iida... Mom and Dad.**

But as I outstretched my hand, I found that I couldn't move. My legs weren't going. I was glued to my spot.

_"You may think you're not special, or outstanding, or anyone at all, but I do. Blackbird does. Your friends do. Your dad and mom think so... And I know Hiro did."_

I recalled driving the pregnant Ms. Wren to the hospital as Deja Vu blares along with the sounds of the police. Then, my first meeting with Strawberry Shades on the train. After, the hotdog hostage. Like a tape, all the trouble that I ran into replayed in my head along with the people involved in them. Strawberry Shade's ridiculous schemes, Masterbaiter's and Static's silly disputes, Furutani's delight for the dark arts, Mitsumu's intrusive info gathering... I can't forget Todoroki's habit of sending me cat videos, and Iida's odd hand gestures along with my animated conversations about Rings of the Lord with Tsuyu. Despite the chaos and absurdity of it all, a tender feeling filled me. At the same time, it filled me with wistfulness.

That's when I realized that I was wrong about everything.

Maneuvering myself the best I could, I manage to turn the opposite way. I scrambled back toward the entrance as fast as I could. Frantic thoughts raced in my mind as my heartbeat accelerated. I was nearly out of breath, but all I cared about was getting back to him. I don't care that I was on the verge of escaping. I don't care if the Crescent Reaper is out there. I don't care about Crimson Eclipse, Kiyoshi, or Shigaraki. I don't if I ended up losing my life. He mattered more.

** Despite not having a quirk, I moved.**


	25. I Am Here

The darkness cleared just as Corvade escaped. The villain snapped his eyes onto Furutani, who was standing a few feet away. "What a lame trick!" he exclaimed, running up to her.

Sidestepping, his fists missed her by a centimeter. Furutani opened her cloak to attack when his other fist slams into her gut. The girl flew across the room and smashed against the wall. Within seconds, the villain appeared in front of her to pack another hit. Using a dark arm, she smacked his fists away from her. She dug her heels into his chest making him stumble back and knocked him off his feet by swiping an arm underneath him. His body crashed onto a table. She attempted to hit him but missed it when he rolled away.

"Let's see if you like this!" he hollered. With lightning speed, he jumped up and headbutt her in the chin. He slammed both his fist down on her. Pain erupted throughout her head and she fell forward. He didn't give her time to recover because he sends a heavy kick to her side, and she tumbles away and skids into a chair. Although he looked as thin as a twig, his fists felt like metal beams every time they collided. Even as he walked over, she noticed that his shoes were creating an imprint into the ground.

"You should've left when you had the chance," he rasped.

Furutani peered up at him with warm blood trickling down from her scalp. "I must stop you...from going after...the boss..."

Upon saying that, a long claw ejected out of her cloak and it slashed across his face leaving three deep marks. Jumping up from the ground, Furutani sprinted over and tackled him with a giant arm. He skidded backward creating a line of dents on the floor.

The villain gave her an angry grin as he wiped the blood off his face. "That quirk of yours is strong."

The two opponents charged at each other. He began to barrage her with punches as Furutani deflected them with her shadow arms.

"You're pretty creepy, you know? I'm sure you've been ridiculed throughout your life! I know how it's like! I was subject to abuse as well!" he remarked, throwing a fist. His knuckles skidded on the side of her cheek, pulling off her black veil in the process. It fluttered onto the ground as she dodged his kick.

"But I was strong. I was gifted, and so are you."

A shadowy fist goes barreling toward his face, and he hardly had time to duck. Zipping back into her cloak, Furutani said, "I am not joining...so enough talk."

Eraserhead's voice played suddenly on her radio informing that Rin was spotted. The edges of the gloomy girl's lips curled up slightly. Despite her glee, the expression plastered on her face conveyed something more sinister instead.

A loud explosion beneath them rattled the entire base. Tables, chairs, and the red wall fixtures violently shook. The lights on the ceiling flickered and some crashed down. Furutani found that as a chance to attack while he was distracted. A four feet wall ejected out of her dark cloak that smacked him in the chest promptly knocking him off balance. Opening her cloak, she spoke.

_**"Devil's Chains."**_

Six black chains ejected out of the darkness and wrapped around his arms and legs. The villain attempted to break free but found that it only wrapped tighter. A chain curled around his throat as Furutani's outstretch fingers curled. It was about time to end this battle.

"You'll never...find her!" the villain cried. "Your life ends now, hero!"

The atmosphere of the room changed. The air grew dense and it got harder to breathe. An invisible weight fell upon Furutani making her fall onto her knees, effectively weakening the chains' grip. That proved an opportunity for the villain to break free. Around her, the chairs and tables began to break in half feeling the weight of the pressure. Furutani tried to stand up but found herself collapsing. Each second that passed, the pressure got heavier. She expected that her enemy would stroll over and finish her off but found that he couldn't move either; his quirk affected him as well.

"You're not going anywhere! Your efforts are worthless!" he exclaimed. Lights from the ceiling began to crash down affected by gravity. One crashed next to Furutani and she felt sharp shards of glass stab her skin. The room went dark with the hallway lights being their only means of vision. However, Furutani could see the sharp grin plastered onto her opponent's face.

"I'll send this entire place crashing down!"

The pressure intensified forcing Furutani to lie on the ground. Her ears popped and her skull began to get crushed. The ceiling and walls groaned loudly as her vision grew blurry.

They had barely found Rin and now the whole base was on the brink of collapse. She promised Corvade that she would hold him off. She tried playing a hero but failed.

She slowly lifted her bony fingers up to her earpiece. Clicking on it, she spoke. "The base will crash. Everyone...you must find Rin and escape." Placing both her fingers on the floor, she began to channel as much energy as she could.

_"You can't be a hero! Your face looks creepy and your quirk is a curse! You're better being a villain!"_

Perhaps that was true; maybe it was better for her to be a villain. As much as her mind was screaming that, her heart wouldn't listen. When she muttered those two words from her lips and let the shadows free, all her hopes were placed on prolonging the collapse even if her life depended on it.

»»—- —-««

There was no one I could depend on; no hero to rescue me, no brother, no quirk. It was just me. So how was I able to flick that dagger away from Strawberry Shade's throat?

The blade slapped against the wall with a metallic _cling! _The two of them stop fighting and turned to me. I was standing in front of the tunnel with outstretched hands. My heart was pounding so hard and sweat dripped down my face. The building trembled around me. Or...was I the one who was trembling?

"Rin-chan, what are you doing? You are supposed to leave!" Strawberry Shades spoke.

Without warning, the Crescent Reaper lunges to him and slashes his weapon across his face. Strawberry Shades was able to dodge the attack by just a split second, and the blade creates a small cut across his nose. But like the battle at the first base, the villain's weapon disconnects and heads toward Strawberry Shades. My feet moved on their own as it headed straight for his stomach. Swiping my hands down, the weapon zips down to the ground and Strawberry Shades knees him with a layer of seed on his knee. The Crescent Reaper swung his weapon back up to his face when I moved my hands. Again, the scythe changed its direction. This time, it zips left. Strawberry Shades slugged him right in the face that sent him sliding away. A small crack appeared on his mask and blood trickled from it.

However, that didn't halt him. Reaching for his boomerang, he was quick to throw it at him. Strawberry Shades smoothly dodged it sending a seed from his palms. As the boomerang swung around him, it began barreling toward me.

"Rin-chan!" Strawberry Shades exclaimed, holding a hand out. He was interrupted by the Crescent Reaper's attempt to cut his throat again and had to dodge.

As for me, my heart skipped when it neared my face. It was mere inches until impact.

**Now.**

The boomerang surges away from my face and flies toward the Crescent Reaper. It bonks him in the head.

_**"Bullet Onslaught!"**_ Strawberry Shades cries. Tiny seeds began to shoot out of his mouth at lightning speed. Although they looked weak, the speed of it was enough to force his opponent back. The Crescent Reaper dived across the floor to grab his boomerang. Just as he wrapped his hands around it, a loud rumble erupted. The entire place violently shook and the lights shut off.

It was pitch black. The only thing that illuminated the darkness was the redness from the villain's blade. The battle continued. I listened in as Strawberry Shades and the Crescent Reaper blindly attacked each other. Strawberry Shades must've sent a seed because I felt something hard hit my arm. I was nearly knocked back from the impact. My shoulder began to throb.

The lights flickered back on. The Crescent Reaper was standing behind Strawberry Shades with his weapon in hand. This time, I wasn't fast enough. It slams into Strawberry Shade's shoulder and he let out a yelp. Blood seeps from his shoulder as he dashes away. A line of red splatters on the steel floors.

"Strawberry Shades!" I exclaimed, dashing to them.

"Stay back!" he snapped whipping back to his enemy. He raised his left arm up to block the villain's blade. This time he was prepared because there was a seed protruding out of his forearm. Instead of sinking into his skin, the blade got stuck on the seed. It was in deep because the Crescent Reaper couldn't pull it out in one try. It was unsettling how much power he put into it; he could've sliced Strawberry Shade's arm off.

However, the Crescent Reaper counterattacked. His boomerang, that I didn't even see him throw, surges back at Strawberry Shades. I was prepared this time. Stretching my hands out, I curled them into a ball and watched as the weapon slammed into the villain's mask. The boomerang flew back at me. I barely managed to catch it.

"Your villainy ends now, villain!" Strawberry Shades proclaimed. Nudging his left arm up to his face, the Crescent Reaper's face smashed into the end of his weapon. Strawberry Shades sent him flying with a powerful kick to the stomach. That caused the reaper to let go of his weapon. Meanwhile, I ran over and threw the boomerang at him...but missed. It flew down the left hallway. If it weren't for the life-or-death situation I was in right now, I would've dwelled on my pathetic attack a bit longer. But it's fine. We were going to win.

**I was going back to my old life.**

"Prepare to be planted!" Strawberry Shades started to launch another seed when a man appears behind him. In a flash, a large arm collides with his back. Blood spurts from his mouth and Strawberry Shades crashes into the wall.

"I see that you decided," a chilling voice spoke.

I felt my heart drop seeing Kiyoshi standing there with his right arm covered with white bone. My throat went dry and my breaths got heavier. And for some reason, I became weary; so tired. I couldn't move an inch.

We were winning. We were about to escape. **It was going to be all over.**

Kiyoshi casually strolled over to me with one hand in his pocket. He wore a relaxed expression on his face and had no signs of any injury. He looked just as crisp and clean as he did when I last saw him. The calm temperament he held intimidated me; how was he so calm during all this chaos?

**Thump...thump...thump...**

I need to calm down. Getting overrun by emotions will make things worse. Breathe.

Kiyoshi let out a disappointed sigh. "I thought you were going to join Crimson Eclipse for sure. Why the change of heart? You saw what they did to your brother. The League of Villains murdered him. Shigaraki murdered him. Don't you want to avenge Hiro?"

"No. I...can't," I replied, shaking my head.

"What do you mean? I told you, I'll give you power; I'll make you strong," he said walking closer. "I understand that this is a hard decision. Achieving your desires will never be easy. You must prepare to make sacrifices to reach your goal. You must harden your will."

"I know that. But I-"

"If Hiro were in your place, he would've joined Crimson Eclipse," he interrupted. "He loved you; I know he would do anything for his precious sister. So if you really love Hiro..."

He peered down at me with a stern gleam in his eyes that made my blood run cold. "You will abandon everything and come with me."

"You are wrong!" the strawberry hero suddenly said. A seed zips out of his hands and he dashes forward. The seed weakly bounces off of Kiyoshi's right arm as Strawberry Shades throws a punch. Kiyoshi dodges and Strawberry Shades tries again. For a moment, the hero threw punches, kicks, and shot seeds. However, Kiyoshi was able to evade or block them all.

"I don't have time to play with you right now," Kiyoshi tiredly said. A barrier of bone appears on his knee and he knees Strawberry Shades in the stomach. However, Strawberry Shades acted quickly and made his own barrier made of seed on it. He only got knocked back a few feet because of that.

A small smirk appeared on Kiyoshi's lips. "Oh? You can do that too? What a coincidence."

Strawberry Shades lifted a finger at him. "Leave Rin-chan alone! She will never join your evil league!" he peered over to me. "Tell him!"

The images of Shigaraki and Hiro flashed in my head. I felt warmth rise up in my chest just recalling that horrid scene. I hated that man for killing Hiro. But it wouldn't have happened if Crimson Eclipse didn't kidnap him. That's right; Kiyoshi did this. He ruined everything. Joining Crimson Eclipse won't help me at all; he just wants to use me.

**Thump. Thump. Thump.**

"That's right. You're the one who brought Hiro here in the first place. You were the one who chained him up and left him to die." I flickered my eyes at Kiyoshi giving him a contemptuous glare. "I'll never join Crimson Eclipse. So, leave us alone."

A tint of amusement gleamed in the villain's eyes. A small chuckle escaped his lips and he apologized. "What a frightening glare you have. It's scarier than Hiro's; maybe even more than your father's."

"You...be quiet!" I snapped, charging at him. I blindly swung my fist at him. Smoothly stepping to the side, he readied his fist and went straight for my side. However, his fist gets pulled back just as his jaw gets slugged. He nearly tips over from the impact. Strawberry Shades attacked immediately.

Crap... I'm getting ahead of myself. My heart is beating so fast; it's going to explode. Everything feels like I'm on fire, and my head hearts so much. If I don't calm down, I'll ruin things again.

The base violently shook again. Debris from the ceiling began to fall and lights shattered. Everyone in the room was knocked off balance from the sudden impact. This place was about to crash.

"Rin-chan, you have to leave!" Strawberry Shades warned. Shortly after, he gets punched by Kiyoshi's bony fist. Blood spurts from his shoulder wound, and he let out a cry of pain.

"No! I'm not leaving you!" I spoke. "I can't lose you either!"

"That's right! You're never leaving! I need to hand you two over to Kurogiri!" Kiyoshi exclaimed.

A cloud of dark purple fog appeared behind Strawberry Shades. A skinny, pale hand stretched from the darkness and wrapped around Strawberry Shades's neck. He began to nudge him off when Kiyoshi spoke.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Once he places all five fingers down, your body will get turned to dust."

Now that I inspected the hand, it did look familiar. Realizing this, my heart nearly stopped.

"I'll give you two choices, Rin. Come with me and I'll let your hero go. Refuse and he dies."

Oh crap... This just got worst. I can't join Crimson Eclipse; I can't! But at the same time, Strawberry Shade's life is at stake. He's doing exactly what he did with Bakugo. Only this time, he intensified it a hundred times. What am I supposed to do?

"Can't I just kill him right now? I don't want to waste my time doing your dirty work," Shigaraki gruffed.

Kiyoshi's eyes flickered at him in disdain. It looked like he wanted to snap at him, but he held his tongue.

I recalled the similar incidents I experienced in the past. First, I thought of the Wren Inc when Mrs. Wren was being held at gunpoint. I remember attacking the gunman with Dad's lunchbox. Then, the Hero Festival with Ruby. I sprinted away from the villain to distract her. After that, my first encounter with Kiyoshi. I pretended to go with Kiyoshi to give Bakugo a chance to send out my location.

"Time is ticking. You don't have all day. The base is about to collapse," Kiyoshi spoke.

"Rin-chan..." Strawberry Shades spoke, peering at me with sad eyes. "You have to go! Now! I promised your parents that I'll rescue you. So please..."

I can't think straight. There's too much going on. I need to clear my head and breathe. It was a weak middle schooler up against two elite villains holding someone hostage as the place crumbles. The odds were not in my favor. What can I do? I can't do it. I won't be able to save him no matter how hard I tried. But...there was only one way I could.

**I'm sorry everyone. Your efforts to save me ended in failure.**

I began to slowly walk over, hanging my head down. Seeing that, Strawberry Shades began to protest. He begged me to run away; to leave him behind. Hearing his desperate pleas made my heart sink. I had to hold back tears; I couldn't even look at him.

"So this is yes?" Kiyoshi remarked.

I nodded numbly. This was to save Strawberry Shades. This was the best a weak, insecure, quirkless kid could do. Who cares about me? As long as he gets to go free...

An intense tremor erupted. It was worse than last time. We were all knocked off our feet. In an attempt to keep him still, Shigaraki's fifth finger pressed against Strawberry Shades neck. Right before the room went dark, I stretched my hands out.

My bare knees hit the sturdy metal floors as the place continued to tremble. Kiyoshi and Shigaraki began to bicker about something but the groaning of steel prevented me from understanding their words. Besides, I don't think I could focus on their troubles right now. My mind was provoked with the dark thought of Strawberry Shade's decayed body lying on the ground in pieces. I wanted the lights to turn back on but at the same time, I was terrified of what I was going to see.

He can't be dead. It can't happen. I can't watch another hero die. **Please, don't leave me.**

Suddenly, I saw a glowing light in the right hallway. I tried to see who was behind it, but it was too dark. It was getting closer and closer by the second. Kiyoshi noticed it too because he let out a curse. "That bitch is back!"

When the lights turned back on, my eyes snapped onto the woman in the right hallway. In her hands was a long, steel, baton. Her curly brown hair was a complete mess. There were patches of sod on her face and her clothes were burned. She looked injured but moved as if she was in perfect condition. She dashed by me. As she did, her piercing violet eyes glanced at me for a split second before focusing on the enemy. Her baton slams into Kiyoshi's face, and blood spurts from his nose.

"Now!" she ordered.

My heart leaped seeing a pink-suited hero jump to her aid. He slugs a seed into his gut just as Corvade quickly attacks again. Her sharp heel was blocked with Kiyoshi's forearm covered in armor and he pushes her off. He sprints forward to smash her against the wall but his hand gets jerked back with the swipe of her fingers. She springs up and roundhouse kicks him in the face.

"You're really that desperate to save her, aren't you?!" he exclaimed. "Why can't you show that enthusiasm toward avenging your father?!"

"Enough!" she barked. She was about to jab her baton into his torso when a vortex appeared behind him. He took a step back into the void. The next thing I know, a pair of hands wrap around me. And then, I was in complete darkness for a moment.

My body pops out of the vortex. The bright sun contrasted highly from the dimness of the hideout. It felt nice out here; there was a cool breeze blowing in my face. I heard the distant crashing of waves and smelled salt in the air. As I neared the sand, I saw that we were teleported to Takoba Municipal Beach. Kiyoshi gripped me tightly as I struggled to break free. Corvade was speeding after us; she must've jumped through too.

"Get...off!" I elbowed him in the gut. That didn't do much.

The scenery changed when we fell through another portal. The sounds of the train blast in my ears. It looked like I was in Hosu City; the iconic yellow train gave it away.

Corvade sent a zipline toward my gown. I expected to get stabbed by the hook, but instead it launched above my shoulder. Kiyoshi yelped in pain when the cold metal sunk into his skin. In an instant, Corvade zips to us and shoves her heels into his face. Grabbing my gown, she attempts to pull me out of his arms.

"I see that you're still remarkably annoying after all these years!" Kiyoshi remarked.

Corvade punched Kiyoshi in the jaw as we passed by the train filled with onlookers. It was really uncomfortable being stuck in between them while they fought; I was getting squished by their bodies.

Corvade's violet eyes peered down at him. "And you're still remarkably idiotic after all these years."

Dark blood ran down both of Kiyoshi's nostrils. He barred his teeth at her. "You..!"

We got transported to another location. From this view, I could see Wren Inc in the distance. The sound of the bustling street was heard from below. But most of all, the sound of Corvade's and Kiyoshi's battle.

"I'm going to end this foolishness!" Corvade proclaimed, reaching into her cloak. Pressing a gun against Kiyoshi's forehead, she pulled the trigger.

I expected his brains to get blown apart but instead, his body stiffened. His grip on me loosened and I untangled from his grasp. Grabbing me again, Corvade pulled me off of him and into her arms. She sent a zipline toward a nearby building. We flew away from the incapacitated villain.

"Stay," she sternly ordered as she dropped me on an apartment balcony. She whisked away back to Kiyoshi, who was heading straight to the street.

"This isn't over!" Kiyoshi barked as Corvade dived to him. Latching another zipline onto his shoulder, she zipped toward his body. Kiyoshi punched her straight in the face with his bone-covered fist. She didn't waver one bit. He struggled to fling her off but it was no use; she wasn't going anywhere.

He slammed back-first with Corvade standing on top of him, creating a giant outline of his body on the cement. Passerbys frighteningly scampered away and stayed at a distance. A brunette girl with round, rosy cheeks let out a gasp upon exiting the apartment door behind me. She rushed over to the ledge.

"Wh-what happened? How did you get here? Is this a villain attack?" she blubbered. "Huh?! Is that Corvade?"

Corvade clicked on her earpiece to inform the authorities that she apprehended Kiyoshi and rescued me. Then, she peered down at Kiyoshi. I couldn't understand what they were talking about but I could tell their conversation was tense. Whatever Kiyoshi said to her pissed her off because she kicked him in the face with her heel.

My knees buckled and I leaned on the cement fence in fatigue. The girl asked me if I was okay. I couldn't reply to her; my throat was so parched. I felt like I could finally breathe again. It was all over. This is the end.

But I was wrong.

In a flash, I saw Kiyoshi pull out a small glass container full of green gas. He slammed it on the concrete creating a huge cloud of green gas. It spread through the air in a 20 ft dome. Pedestrians screamed. The two figures disappeared into the cloud. My heart beat loudly in my chest as I waited for the gas to clear. Please still be alive. Please be okay.

**Please. **

Finally, the smoke cleared and my heart dropped. Corvade was kneeling in front of Kiyoshi. Both of Kiyoshi's arms were both covered in white bone. There was dark blood tricking down from her forehead. There was a dazed look in her eyes. She was clutching her left arm that had gone limp.

**Thump, thump, thump.**

"You should've just stayed in Venom's Bane. Both you and Ryu," Kiyoshi spoke with a shadow cast on his face. He lifted his arm up to punch her. I expected Corvade to move, but she was glued to her spot. That gas must've done something to her.

People screamed in terror as Corvade began to get punched by him repeatedly. Everything was falling apart as the world began to spin. My breaths got quick and heavy and it hurt to breathe. I clutched the cement wall, my finger scraping against its rough texture.

It's just like the Sludge Incident earlier this year. I was away from all the action, wasn't I? I stood there as Bakugo got hurt; I stood there like a little weak puppy. He could've died and I did nothing. He was lucky that he got saved by both Midoriya and All Might. But this time, there was no one coming to save Corvade; no Midoriya or All Might. I was just here. **I am here.**

I weakly slammed my fist in frustration. Someone's getting hurt for my sake. It's always like this! I'm always getting captured and Blackbird is always rescuing me! Why does this keep on happening?

**I'm so weak. I'm so useless. I'm so quirkless.**

_ "You have a habit of demeaning your worth! You are quite amazing! Your eerily collected temperament is something I am jealous of along with the ability to keep a clear head during the chaos!"_

I can't calm down. There's too much; too much fighting, too much pain, too much emotion. **It's overriding my brain.**

_"Oddly, you have a way of calming me down with your presence alone. You always give it your all and even when you fail, you still get up and try again. Not to mention, your helpful nature."_

**Everyone, just stop. Please stop. I can't take it anymore. **

I watched as Kiyoshi raised his hands up. Sharp pieces of bone protruded out. He was aiming right for Corvade's skull. People cried for help; they cried for somebody to save her. The girl beside me started to cry.

**I can't watch another person die.**

Without knowing, I climbed onto the ledge as the girl tried to get me off. Without knowing, I leaped away from safety and toward the battle below. Without knowing, my bare feet slammed onto the concrete without breaking. Without knowing, my legs began to move. Without knowing, I pushed Corvade away as Kiyoshi's fist neared my face.

_"You claim that you dislike conflict, but yet I always see you running into it...purposefully."_

The prickling sensation started from my toes. It spurred through my entire body and up into my outstretched fingers. My strength, my power, my Quirk coursed through my veins. It was going to explode. Everything was going to explode. I was going to explode. And this time, I didn't hold back.

_"Rin, you're much more heroic than you think."_

A huge blast erupted from my hands. The sharp blade on Kiyoshi's fist snapped. His arm got blown back and his body followed after. I immediately felt a wave of fatigue crash down on me. My limbs were about to break, and my muscles were on fire. However, I didn't stop; I couldn't stop now. There was something inside of me that refused.

"You annoying kid! You're just like that bitch, aren't you?! Forget about joining; I'll kill you!" Kiyoshi yelled.

He sprinted over. He punched me in the shoulder. Pain erupted throughout my entire body, but I was still standing. He broke a piece of bone off his arm and tried to stab me. However, his hand jerked back with such force that I heard a crack.

"Why...why would you do that?" I asked.

Jumping away, he picked up a truck effortlessly and hurled it in my direction. Swiping my fingers, it curved to the right and began barreling at him. That caught him by surprised and he gets smashed. Glass flew up in the air along with a bag of groceries. Dropping my hand down, the shards and groceries switched directions and zipped down. Glass stabbed his skin and vegetables tumbled off.

"Why? Why would you kill my brother?" I staggered over to him with my entire body aching. I was trembling with adrenaline and my chest felt so heavy. My heart was going to pop out of my chest. There were a million emotions running through me that it made my head pound.

Kiyoshi lifted the car off of him. He looked like a complete mess. Shards of glass were stuck onto his skin. Blood ran down his forehead and bruises were all over his face. He wore an enraged expression on his battered face.

"Your brother was weak! It's his fault for getting kidnapped in the first place!" he shouted with a sharp grin. "If he was strong, he would be alive!"

"You're wrong! Hiro was strong! He's the strongest, best, big brother I could ask for!" I exclaimed. "Why couldn't you leave Hiro alone? He did nothing wrong! He was so kind! He was supposed to become a Pro Hero and be saving people, but he can't anymore!"

Tears pricked my eyes. I couldn't stop anymore. It erupted and now, I was falling apart.

** Everything hurts so much.**

I felt a hand land on my shoulder. Peering behind, I was met with familiar purple eyes. Her usual steely gaze was gone. Instead, a soothing look replaced it. Seeing that expression made me feel even worse, so I angrily nudged her off and began matching over to Kiyoshi.

"I hate Crimson Eclipse, I hate villains, I hate you! Why can't people with strong quirks leave us alone?! Why can't you be satisfied?!" my voice shook.

A dark vortex appeared behind Kiyoshi. A misty arm reached out and grabbed him. Kiyoshi gave me a strained smile that boiled my blood. I took off running after him. There was no way this was ending like that. He can't go away scot-free.

"Rin, stop!" Corvade barked. I felt something grab the back of my gown. I tripped and my face hit the ground. I turned around and tried to nudge her zipline off in desperation.

"He's escaping! He can't leave yet! Get this off!"

I glanced back at Kiyoshi. He had merged into the darkness now. However, I could see his white face stare into me. "Goodbye, Rin. The next time we meet, I'll kill you."

"No! Stop!" I cried stretching my hand out. I watched as Kiyoshi disappeared with the vortex closing.

I finally managed to get her stupid claw off of my shirt. I flung it away with all my strength, and it clattered on the ground. For a moment, I sat there on my knees. My body was at its limit and I was ready to collapse at any moment. Despite all the pain in my limbs, the pain in my chest hurt even more.

I slammed my fists down on the cement. It hurt, but I didn't care. I began to weakly punch the ground as hot tears streamed down my dirty face.

**Why? WHY? Why does he get to go? Why does he get to win? It's so unfair! **

I heard Corvade's heels slowly walk over to me. Stopping next to me, I peered up at her. Blood stained her face and several bruises were beginning to appear. Her hair was a matted mess. Her cloak was lying on the ground exposing small cuts and scratches all over her body. Her left arm hung limply to the side, and her right arm held her ziplining device.

"Why...?" I started, grabbing onto her. I shook her. "Why did you stop me? He was right there! You let him get away!"

The woman didn't say anything. She just stared at me with that unwavering gaze of hers.

"Why did you leave me? Why did you have to go? I hate you!" I whimpered. Tears slipped down my dirty face as I gripped her shirt. "Hiro, please don't go..."

Pressing my forehead against her body, I cried.


	26. Individuality

It was so hot. My eyes were stinging with tears as I tried to navigate out of the flames. I tried my best to follow the sounds of the voices from outside and out of the fiery vortex. Accidentally inhaling some of the air, my chest tightened and my throat screamed for moisture. I began to cough in a fit that stopped me in my tracks.

"Hey! There's an opening over here!" I heard a voice call.

Flickering my eyes toward the voice, I saw that there was a gaping hole amidst the vortex. There was a tall, thin, man conducting people out. Civilians were scurrying out in desperation as the hole began to shrink. I began to make my way over when I heard a loud cackling come from behind.

Another villain attack? This situation feels oddly familiar.

Despite the chaos around me, I thought back to yesterday.

»»—- —-««

The mission was a success. I was rescued from Crimson Eclipse and taken to safety. Due to quirk overuse and other injuries, I was taken to the hospital. Dad and Mom refused to leave my side once I got there. Mom kept shedding waterfalls, and Dad, for the first time in forever, looked like he was about to cry. A few other heroes, including Corvade, Strawberry Shades, and Furutani, got patched up too. Furutani was the most injured person. The villain she was battling allowed him to change gravitational pull. The pressure must've gotten too strong so I can imagine why most of her bones were broken and why she had bleeding in her brain. Apparently, that villain was the reason why the base began to collapse. Furutani was able to prolong the collapse though. Thanks to that, Blackbird garnered a lot of respect from the authorities.

The doctors found that a significant amount of blood was drawn from my body so I was forced to stay in the hospital for a week. Luckily, I didn't have to take my history exam on the Meji Restoration (though, I did feel a bit bad that I wasted Iida's time). Most of the stay, I watched tv, talked to the doctors and authorities, and slept.

People visited. Some of the local heroes such as Kamui Woods and Eraserhead checked up on me. A few of my classmates from school swung by, including Midoriya. Upon seeing me in the bed, he cried a river. He also bought me a bunch of snacks from the convenience store. Bakugo's family came too. Bakugo tagged along and didn't give me laser eyes the entire time (surprisingly). Tsuyu and her family came as well. I'm not one for hugs, but Tsuyu and her siblings had a way of making me enjoy them. I ate tacos with Mrs. Wren, Junichi, and Iida. Although Mrs. Wren claimed that she wasn't hungry, she ended up eating three of them. Junichi ate a lot as expected, but maybe a bit too much because he threw up all over her white dress. She flipped, and Iida couldn't stop apologizing to me after that. Todoroki and I had an hour-long conversation about conspiracy theories, and his sister brought me carnations. Surprisingly, Himawari and her parents swung by too. She drew me a picture of me and her at the beach and said once I got better, she'll take me there.

It was a bit tiring to receive all those visitors. At the same time, it made my chest less heavy whenever someone's head would pop through the door. It was strange to see that all these people cared about me. It also made me feel even more guilty for thinking about leaving and joining Kiyoshi. I couldn't believe that I was going to leave everyone behind. Because of that, I spent a lot of time feeling guilty. The only person who knew was Strawberry Shades, but I haven't seen him since the rescue. Actually, I haven't seen any of Blackbird. I know that they were probably busy doing hero stuff, but I wanted to see their faces again and properly thank them.

"The doctors say that you'll be able to leave today..." Dad awkwardly said. He was left to start the conversation since Mom left to get some vending machine snacks. "...How about we try that new taco place in Tokyo? The reviews say that it has good food."

I nodded. He could tell that something was on my mind and asked me what was wrong. I told him it was nothing.

"Rin... I..." he said in a quiet voice. "When we found out you got kidnapped, we were so terrified. We didn't know what they were going to do."

He was quiet for a moment to collect his thoughts. "...We couldn't bear losing another family member. I just...want you to know that we are here. I understand that I'm not the most approachable person and we are not as close, but at least confide with your mother. I know it's hard. It's very hard for me too."

His eyes peered down. "I'm sorry that I'm not a better father. I was supposed to protect you, but I failed. I'm not asking for forgiveness, but I wanted to tell you that I care for you."

Please don't look like that. It's not your fault. It's mine. As much as I wanted to tell him that, the lump in my throat was preventing me. Instead, I pathetically looked away.

"It...hurts knowing that you were taken advantage of. Usually, I would ground you for doing something like that... I'll let this slide."

That's weird of him to mention that. Does that mean...?

The door opened. Mom walked in with snacks. Shutting the door behind them softly, Mom spoke. "Rin, may I ask you something?"

"Ok..." I cautiously replied as she set the snacks down at my bedside.

"...Why didn't you tell us about your quirk?"

Huh?

Dad's eyes flickered at her. It was silent. Neither of them spoke. They were waiting for my answer. Seeing that I wasn't going to respond, Mom continued. "Asu-Corvade mentioned that your quirk manifested. You used it to protect her. How come you didn't tell us?"

"I...I...don't know." I stared at the palm of my hand. "I guess I was sort of shocked. I didn't know I was capable of doing something so...powerful..."

I could tell that they had something else to add. However, they didn't speak further about it. I wanted to ask them, but at the same time, I didn't want to talk about quirks anymore since it'll remind me of him again. For the rest of the time, we spoke about our trip to the taco restaurant.

Later that night, I found it so hard to sleep despite finally being in my own bed. Everything that had led up to that moment kept replaying in my head. An uncomfortable heaviness weighed my chest down the more I thought about it and I kept waking up. Around 2 am, I finally gave up and decided to grab a glass of water to clear my head. Shuffling my bare feet off my sweaty sheets, I walked out of my room. Creeping down the stairs, I noticed that the kitchen light was on. I saw Dad's stocky shadow on the tan tiles. Accompanying him was another. It didn't look like Mom; Mom didn't have curly hair.

"I think it's about time you tell her," a female voice spoke.

"And what? Not tell her about you?" Dad gruffly replied. "I know how she is. She'll figure out sooner or later."

"Then let her figure it out."

"Just like she did with her quirk? For God's sake, she's going to high school next year. I can't keep lying to her anymore. She's old enough to understand these things."

Gently placing my hands on the wall, I peeked into the kitchen. Dad was leaning on the kitchen counter with his arms folded. Across from him was Corvade. What was she doing here? Why is she talking to Dad? What are they even talking about?

"I was there when she used her quirk. It was powerful. The amount of pent up anger inside of her is dangerous," Corvade said. "She doesn't need to get dragged into our drama; we shouldn't pass on our problems onto her. She's been through enough already. I don't want her to end up like Kiyoshi. Or worse, like fa-"

Corvade's eyes suddenly jerked to me and I stiffened. Dad noticed my appearance too. He tensely asked me what I was doing here. I told him I came down here to drink some water. The entire time, the two of them stared me down. Awkwardly walking into the kitchen, I asked, "So...uh, why's Corvade here?"

"How much did you hear?" Dad asked.

"...Stuff about my quirk," I replied. "Dad... Have you always known about my quirk?"

A nervous gleam flashed on his face as he looked away. He took a moment to respond. Maybe he took too long because Corvade replied for him. "Yes. He's known since the Makoro Space Tower Incident."

The foggy memory of that day: 7-year-old me and Dad was up on the space tower. Mom and Hiro were riding down the elevator. We couldn't go in since it was jam-packed so we had to wait for our turn. The sky was dark. Stars were twinkling along with the illuminating lights of the city. Cars zoomed down the streets like tiny blurs. Everything was fine. And that was when it happened.

The side of the building explodes. I can still smell the fire and smoke. It smelled like burning metal. People were screaming for help as they raced toward the elevator. Villains burst through the open gap in the tower seizing anyone they could touch. One tried to grab me, but Dad protected me. As we scrambled to the elevator, there was another blast. He couldn't protect himself and nearly fell out of the tower...if I didn't protect him. Or should I say, force the villain's weapon to change its direction. The next thing I knew, I began tumbling down in the open air with Dad's horrified face and my feeble outstretched hands. I should've died that day but I didn't. A figure in black that had a scar somehow saved me.

That's right. How didn't I notice this before? It wasn't dumb luck or bad aim; it was my quirk. I used my quirk to save Dad. I don't understand why he didn't tell me about this. Doesn't he know how much suffering Hiro had to go through due to my lack of power?

"I've lived my whole life feeling so weak and helpless; I felt like a burden to anyone who would rescue me from trouble. Why...didn't you tell me about this sooner?" I questioned Dad.

"It was to protect you."

"P-protect me? Aren't quirks supposed to be used to protect people?"

"You don't understand."

"I thought you said that I was old enough to get these sorts of things."

That hit him and he held his tongue. An unsettling silence fell on him. I gripped my pajama pants with my fingers. "I was so scared of dying that day. But when that villain swung that blade at your neck, I became even more scared losing you. My body moved on its own. The same thing happened with Corvade. When Kiyoshi tried to kill her, I couldn't bear witnessing someone die for my sake so that's why I ran. I knew that's what a hero would do... What he would do."

It went quiet. Dad didn't respond. He didn't look at me. It almost seemed like he was ashamed.

Corvade turned to him informing that they'll continue this discussion later. Then stopping in front of me, she said, "You are a strong girl with a versatile quirk. I know you'll be smart about this. Just know that whatever path you choose, your life will never be the same."

I didn't bother asking her why she was even here. There were too many thoughts running in my head. Walking away from me, she went out of the front door.

I don't know why, but my heart began to quickly thump. A feeling that felt weird but familiar began to rise in my chest. I had a sudden urge to turn around and call out to her; to speak to her. Not just about my quirk, but about everything; about Crimson Eclipse, about Kiyoshi, about Blackbird, about her.

**About this unnatural energy pulsating inside of me.**

I scampered out of the kitchen and followed Corvade outside. She was already at the end of the street. She was speaking to someone on her phone; I'm assuming Blackjack. Upon hearing me call her name, she turned around.

"What are you doing here? Go back inside. Your father is already upset enough; coming out here will upset him further," she sternly said.

"I need to ask you something," I started. I peered down at my palm. "...That night when Kiyoshi came, he told me something. He said that he knew who I inherited my quirk from."

I glanced back at her. "I don't know how you and Dad are related, but you know what my quirk is. I doubt Dad is gonna tell me about my quirk, but you might."

Corvade's piercing eyes stared at me for a moment. The intense gaze she gave me reminded me of Dad's. Then kneeling down, she picked up a pebble and suddenly threw it at my face. I flinched and curled my fingers on instinct. The pebble zipped away from my face and tumbled back onto the street.

"Tell me what happened," she said.

"Uh... You threw a pebble at me?"

"And then?"

I pointed at the pebble. "And then it went the other way when I...clenched my hands."

She bent down and picked it up again. "I'm going to throw it again. This time, try swiping your hand to the left."

Before I had time to prepare, she chucks it at me. The stone hits my shoulder, and it hurt. Corvade told me to try again. She picked the pebble up and threw it but I moved my hand too late and got hit again.

"It's all about timing. Pick it up and throw it at my face."

I bent down and grabbed the rock, giving her an uncertain look. Nevertheless, I threw the rock. It never hit her face because she swiped her hand left, almost as if she was swatting a fly. The rock smoothly changes its direction and starts surging at me. I instinctively moved my hand too and it zipped back to her and she caught it.

"What...was that?" I began cautiously. "How did you do that? How did I do that?"

"Redirection."

Then reaching into her cloak, she sent out a zipline at a nearby roof. Before leaving, I said to her, "Corvade... Since I've been rescued, I've been feeling...off. I feel all giddy and my heart can't stop beating so fast. It's weird but I'm actually kinda excited to my next villain encounter because I know I can finally protect myself and maybe protect others. Seeing you and Blackbird saving people all the time that...comforted me. Do...do you think I can do that too?"

Her glowing violet eyes settled on me. "You've been doing that your entire life. You were just too dense to notice. You're much courageous than you think. Being a hero comes naturally to you."

I didn't have time to question her further because she goes soaring away. When I got back inside, Dad wasn't in the kitchen anymore. He must've gone upstairs. Locking the front door and walking upstairs, I saw that Hiro's bedroom door was opened. Peeking inside, I saw Dad sitting on his bed. He was holding Hiro's picture of us on our Kyoto trip.

He noticed me standing in the doorway and quickly wiped his eyes. Placing the photo down, he asked me if I locked the front door. I told him that I did. We stood there in silence for a moment. I haven't realized now, but Dad seemed a lot more tired and I don't think it was because he was awake at this hour. His eyes seemed weary and a bit sad. His face looked worn out.

Muttering a quiet "good night", I left him to mourn and climbed back into my bed.

Could I actually become one? Could I become someone people can depend on, someone that can comfort others when they're in trouble?

**Become a Hiro?**

My eyelids began to grow heavy as I drifted off the sleep. Little did I know that my will would be tested the next day.

Dad went running some errands at the grocery store. Despite Mom's efforts to keep me home, I insisted on going with him. We never arrived because a villain attacked. There was a loud boom. And then, fire everywhere. It was just like the Sludge Incident. Someone was getting held hostage while everyone fleed and watched. Heroes tried to rescue Dad but the fiery vortex proved to be too difficult to trudge through.

In an instant, a surge of fire goes bursting up into the air just inches away from my back, breaking me from my thoughts. The intensity of the heat burned my eyes as I staggered forward. Turning around, I saw the villain emerge. As his body was made out of the fire, he was easily able to walk through the flames. He was a distance away from me, so I still had a good chance of making it out. Not to mention, I wasn't getting targeted. He was going after someone else. He was slowly approaching Dad. For a split second, we locked eyes. Although I was surrounded by flames, the expression he gave me sent cold chills down my back.

"Rin, run!" Dad ordered.

I turned around and ran toward the opening without thinking. As I did, the Dad's face flashed in my head. Without knowing, I had slowed to a stop.

It didn't feel right to leave Dad behind and have him fend against that villain by himself. Something inside was telling me to go back.

"What are you doing?! Hurry!"

The opening was almost gone. The man was still standing there waiting for me to pass. He was waving at me frantically.

I should leave. There's no way I can go against a villain. What was a middle schooler going to do? I can hardly save myself; how was I supposed to save another person? I'll make things worse. I was helpless, weary, and weak. I can't do anything. I have no power. I have no quirk.

** He was gone, and you were quirkless. **

"Rin! Go!" Dad exclaimed.

I ignored that Dad's orders. I ignored that the hole was closing. I ignored the embers that were burning my skin. I ignored the voice inside. Because I knew that it was wrong. **That I was wrong. I saved Mrs. Wren and her baby. I saved Himawari. I saved Strawberry Shades and Masterbaiter. I saved Bakugo. I saved Corvade.**

** And I can save Dad too.**

_"One thing that defines a hero is their ability to respond to cries of help without hesitation."_

"Rin! What are you doing?!" Dad exclaimed as I sprinted to him.

I gave him a weak grin. "I don't know!"

"What?!"

The villain slammed his flaming fist and he quickly jumped away. Noticing me, he sends a fireball at us. I redirected his attack and it soars into the wall of flames.

"Tell me the meaning of this! How did you-" Dad spoke before getting interrupted by another attack. He hardly manages to dodge that one. His fiery fists slightly graze his shoulder and Dad grimaced from the burn.

"Another hostage! This is perfect!" the villain cackled.

He begins barraging me with fireballs. Some I dodged, but others I used my quirk. It was messy and I was rough, but I didn't care. All that matters is rescuing Dad.

I somehow managed to get close enough to him. His pulsating eyes glared at me. I realized how much bigger he was than me. He must've reached 7ft. Now that I'm here, what the heck am I supposed to do?

"Enough playtime, girlie!" the villain said. "It's time to-"

My flipflop goes soaring at him and smacks him straight in the eyeball. He lets out an angry grunt as I chucked my other sandal at him and it hits his other eye. Thank you Midoriya for that idea.

I scurried over to Dad. His face and clothes were covered in black ashes. Sweat ran down his wrinkled face and I'm sure the heat was burning the rest of his remaining hairs.

"I thought I told you to go!" he scolded.

"Uh, no time for talk. We gotta go!" I interrupted. I grabbed his wrist and dragged him away. Meanwhile, the villain recovered himself and followed closely behind.

"Where are you going?! I'll set you both on fire!"

A line of fire surges at us. Instead of jumping the same way, we went opposite ways. I ran left and Dad ran right. A firewall separated us now. The flames intensified drying the moisture from my eyes. Tears watered in my eyes as I tried to search for Dad. The wall between us was too big, so I called out to him but he didn't reply.

Keep calm Rin. Dad will be okay; he's much tougher than you think. I mean, he beat up three Ronald Mcdonalds at Burger King!

The fire settled a bit and I let out a sigh of relief seeing Dad on the other side. He was unhurt. I began to search for a way to cross the fire when he held his hand out to beckon me to stay. The fire villain was bolting straight at him; he was hellbent on capturing him.

"Rin, you have to go! Now! This is an order!" he yelled.

"No! I'm not leaving!"

"You're going to be grounded!"

"I'm not gonna stand by and be deadweight anymore!" I refused.

"You're too late!" the villain cackled. He jumped in front of Dad, smashing the cement. Pieces of it flew up in Dad's face obstructing his view. Then throwing his fist back, the villain smacks Dad. Dad skids a few feet away with pieces of his shirt burned.

Dang it, I need to find a way to get through this fire!

Inspecting the line, I saw that it ran a good 20 ft. It reached a height of 33 inches. I don't think I'll be able to make it in time if I were to go around. But I can't just stand here and do nothing! I was going to save Dad, no matter what. If I want to be like Blackbird, I have to run headfirst into danger, just like Strawberry Shades. What would Strawberry Shades do?

I gave myself a bit of distance from the fire to warm up. I tried taking a deep breath but ended up inhaling more smoke into my lungs. It hurt and tears stung my eyes as I coughed. I pulled my sleeves up and rolled my shoulders in preparation.

It's okay. I got this. I can jump over. I have to envision that I am a weird guy wearing a bright pink suit with a strawberry mask.

I took off running toward the fire. My socks pounded on the steaming cement as I got closer and closer. Dad was faring pretty well against the villain, but I could tell that he was getting lightheaded. The smoke and heat must be getting to him. I was tired too but I couldn't faint now. I had a job to do.

"S-s-stop in the name of justice!" I sheepishly exclaimed, jumping over the fire. My landing was terrible, and I tripped over my feet. I fall face-forward to the ground just as a fireball surges over my head. Dad scrambled over and pulled me up.

"You are grounded!" his sweat-stained face scolded.

Staggering up, I stood in front of him holding both my hands out. I let out a dry cough. "That's fine. You could ground me forever, and I still wouldn't care."

The villain marched over to us barring his teeth in delight. "You really want to get captured, don't you?! Well, fine with me! Eat this!"

He hurls a huge flaming ball at us. Dad tried to pull me away but I didn't budge one bit. My veins pulsated with power and my entire body tingled. That feeling came back again; the feeling I felt when I ran in front of Corvade. Only this time, it didn't hurt. This time, it felt wonderful, like a fresh start.

I knew that I could do this. I'm not weak because I've survived countless villain attacks all by myself. I'm not useless because I've saved people with my own will. I'm not quirkless because I wasn't alone. Strawberry Shades and all of Blackbird, along with Todoroki, Iida, Tsuyu, and Midoriya were with me. Dad and Mom are here. Even Hiro, who was gone, was here too.

I glanced at Dad. His face was worn out from the battle. His eyes were filled with worry. I gave him a reassuring nod. Seeing the determined expression on my face, he nodded back. I turned back around to face the enormous ball of fire.

**I can be a hero too.**

At the right moment, I moved both my arms left. My arms trembled in pain and a small headache began to start. However, I didn't care because it worked. I made the fireball change its direction. I redirected its attack.

—- —-

Ｏｎｉｓｈｉ Ｒｉｎ

Ｑｕｉｒｋ： Ｒｅｄｉｒｅｃｔｉｏｎ

Ｓｈｅ ｉｓ ａｂｌｅ ｔｏ ｃｈａｎｇｅ ｔｈｅ ｄｉｒｅｃｔｉｏｎ ｏｆ ｏｂｊｅｃｔｓ ｏｒ ａｔｔａｃｋｓ ｔｈａｔ ａｒｅ ｉｎ ｍｏｔｉｏｎ！

—- —-

"I've had enough!" the villain screamed. "Just die already!"

Before he could send out another fireball, a stream of water splashes onto his face. He shrieked in a mixture of shock, anger, and pain as the fire around us began to die down. The flames on his body shrunk exposing a short, stocky, man.

"No need to fear because Strawberry Shades is here!" I heard a voice announce.

The corners of my lips curled up upon seeing the figures of a ragtag group of heroes jump down from the floating card from above. Strawberry Shades shoots out a giant seed into his back as giggling Mitsumu landed right on the villain smashing his white Converses into his head. Shortly after, a thin wire with a large fishing lure connected to it wrapped around the villain's legs. The villain tumbled forward landing on his face. Static lands on his back and the sounds of his bone cracking was heard.

"Whoops! My bad!" she said. Despite that, she carelessly walks over him. After stretching her arms for a bit, she held her hand up. "By the power invested in me, it is time for me to revoke your moving privileges."

She began to slap him, hard. The force of it was so strong that I saw a wave of air accompany each hit. The villain was fully incapacitated now thanks to her abilities, and he laid there like a fly in a spider's web.

"You idiot! You weren't supposed to attack yet! We were supposed to wait for Eraserhead to disable his quirk first," Masterbaiter scolded, smacking Strawberry Shades in the shoulder. Strawberry Shades paid no attention to his critical words, and said, "It still worked out in the end, all thanks to my awesome attack!"

"What awesome attack?! As if!"

"Awh man, there's no need to get your panties in a twist," Static teased, giving him a poke. Immediately doing so, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. The two of them began to argue again as the fire around us got washed away. Dad and I got a bit wet but it felt so refreshing.

The rest of the heroes arrived and the police apprehended the villain. The paramedics checked Dad and me for any injuries. Dad received some burns from the villain but it wasn't anything too drastic. As usual, newscasters and journalists flooded to the scene to annoy them. However, Strawberry Shades was happy to answer all their questions.

"Yes! It's thanks to me that the civilians were saved! It's in my nature to take down evil!" he boasted.

While Strawberry Shades, Masterbaiter, Static, and Mitsumu got interviewed, a familiar woman approached me. Besides her was Blackjack.

"How are you feeling?" Corvade said sternly despite the sincere nature of the question.

"I'm okay, I guess," I replied.

Dad's eyes cautiously flickered to her. Whatever was going on between them was still happening, and I shifted uncomfortably.

"That is good news," Blackjack remarked, breaking the tension. "We have to say, your determination to protect your father was simply magnificent. Your display of bravery and power delighted us."

"Wait, you saw everything?" I asked.

"Yes..." a dull woman spoke. My eyes flickered to Furutani who stood solemnly behind them. Despite the injury she received a week prior, she looked better. I mentally let out a relieved sigh.

"Furutani, you're back already? But what about your, uh, head injury?"

She shook her head slowly. "I am fine...thanks to...my helpers..."

"Help...ers?" Dad muttered.

"Yep! Furutani is all right!" Mitsumu piped. Following him was the rest of the gang.

Static leaned toward me with her hands on her hips. "How come you didn't tell us how strong your quirk was, Riny? We could totally use someone like you in Blackbird."

Masterbaiter let out a scoff. "She's not old enough."

She gave him a shrug. "Hey, I joined when I was sixteen. Why can't Riny join?"

"There's no way I'm letting my daughter join your little club," Dad sternly remarked.

Once more, the two of them began to bicker over trivial things. This time, Dad and Masterbaiter ganged up on her. Strawberry Shades turned to me and gave me a thumbs up. "You did a fantastic job, Rin-chan! Seeing you protect your father like that brought a little tear to my eyes. Not to mention, hearing you yell out my catchphrase!"

My face warmed and I scratched my cheek sheepishly. "Erm, you heard that?" I mumbled.

He let out a chuckle and ruffled my hair. "Heh! Seeing how much you adore me, maybe I'll take you as my sidekick!"

"Hey, no fair!" Static whined as she pushed Mastebaiter's face away. "I want another sidekick though!"

"I'm not your sidekick! Get it through your thick head!" her companion barked, jabbing her in the stomach.

"My daughter is never becoming a sidekick of yours!" Dad added.

Blackjack shook his head in disappointment and told the heroes that they were being childish. Furutani let out a small sigh, Mitsumu giggled in amusement, and Corvade rubbed her temples wearily.

Seeing them all here in front of me lifted my spirits. A tender feeling whirled in me. At the same time, I felt a bit melancholic. It reminded me of the outrageous yet hilarious days of the past when life was okay. There was no Crimson Eclipse or no Kiyoshi. Most of all, there was still Hiro.

I felt something wet drip down my cheek. They all took notice of me and stopped. Seeing their eyes on me, I quickly wiped my tear away. However, more began to slip out and I couldn't stop it.

"R-Rin-chan, what is the matter?" Strawberry Shades frantically asked.

Dad came to my side and gently placed his hand on my shoulder in concern.

Why am I crying? I don't even know why. Was it because I missed Hiro? Or was it because I missed Blackbird? Or...was it because I realized how much everyone truly cared for me? How much they all meant to me?

"Thank you. Th-thank you all so much," I croaked. "Thank you all for rescuing me and protecting me. Thank you for always staying by my side even when I pushed you away. Y-you, guys... I don't know what I would do without you. Since Hiro died, I thought I became quirkless; I was weak without him. But now, I know that I'm not. Because you're here."

I sniffed and wiped the remaining tears in my eyes. Peering up at them, I gave them a smile. "Thank you for being my heroes."

They stared at me for a moment. Then out of nowhere, they exploded. Strawberry Shades and Static entangled me into a hug as they both cried dramatically.

"Y-yes! You are very welcome! You can always depend on us!" Strawberry Shades exclaimed.

"All aboard the feels train..." Static whimpered.

"U-uh guys, it's okay," I awkwardly said.

Mitsumu joined the hug. "Awh~! Isn't this just the sweetest? Come join the hug, Mizu-chan and Furu!"

Masterbaiter's cheeks tinted pink and he folded his arms. "Y-you're so dense. Of course, we'll look out for you. You're getting into trouble every single day. And no, I'm not joining the hug!"

Furutani shivered to herself. "How do you hug...?"

Static and Strawberry Shades pull them into the hug further squishing me with their bodies. Tears continued to stream down their cheeks while Mitsumu giggled to himself as Masterbaiter and Furutani awkwardly squeezed me. Dad, Corvade, and Blackjack watched from the sidelines. Even though I was practically getting smashed, I couldn't help but grin.

I peered at Dad who was watching me. The usual rough and rigid expression on his face was gone. Instead, a soft look overcame him. Seeing that expression made me understand why Mom married him; he had such a comforting expression.

Untangling from Blackbird's grasp, I walked over to Dad. "I'm...sorry that I snapped at you yesterday. I was too focused on my feelings to realize how much you were going through."

He shook his head. "I should be the one apologizing. It was cruel of me to let you live your life with a lie. I should've told you about your quirk, but I was..."

Before he could finish, I gave him a hug. He immediately stiffened up. After a moment, I felt his hand gently stroke my head.

"Thank you, Rin," he quietly said. "For being my hero today."

The emotion that I felt that day when I witnessed the actions of a classmate I hardly knew, rose. The spark, no, it wasn't a spark anymore. It was something much more than that. It enveloped my entire being; it felt more like an ocean. My heart began to quicken in excitement and I pulsated with vigor. It reminded me of the feeling I felt when I nearly joined Crimson Eclipse, but at the same time, it didn't hurt. It didn't feel like a knife was stabbing my chest. It was warm and gentle like the hug Blackbird and Dad gave me, like the ones Hiro will give me when he would save me. I felt happy.

If there's one thing I've realized from all the years I've been alive, it's that people with strong quirks are privileged. Now, I don't mean to get all preachy on you but I'm just saying that people with quirks often abuse their power, and to be honest probably won't be able to live life without them. They take their God-given powers for granted. They think that just because they were gifted with inhuman abilities that they can go around wreaking havoc and do as they please without anyone's concern for others. Don't they know that some people just want to live a normal life?

I waved goodbye to my peppermint haired friend as I jogged out of the train station. The cold chill of winter air blew in my face as the unexpectedly warm sun beamed down on me. It felt really nice to finally get out of that cramped train. My phone buzzed and I saw that Iida texted me.

* * *

【 ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴛᴜᴅʏ ꜱᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ʜᴇʟᴅ ᴛʜɪꜱ ꜱᴀᴛᴜʀᴅᴀʏ ᴀᴛ 11 ᴀᴍ. ᴅᴏᴇꜱ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ꜱᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴏᴋᴀʏ? ? 】 ₇:₄₀ ₐₘ

* * *

I quickly texted him a thumbs-up emoji and closed my phone with my froggy keychain Tsuyu gave to me dangling out of my jacket's pocket. Reaching into my other side, I pulled out Midoriya's seemingly unlimited supply of curry bread and taking a bite, I hurriedly made my way to school feeling excited for the first time in forever.

"There's a villain attack!" a civilian warned.

In front of me, I saw a huge snow monster trudging through the street. His claws were made out of sharp icicles that he used to destroy surrounding cars. He began to hurl snowballs at nearby pedestrians. One flew toward me but I didn't need to worry. As it plopped on the cement beside me, a familiar strawberry hero swooped down.

"Good morning, Rin-chan! I see you're ready to get into the action already!" he happily chirped.

I shrugged. "Um, I can't really help it. I'm always surrounded by villains."

He let out a cheeky laugh. "Fear not! When you become a great hero like me, you'll be used to dealing with villains. You'll be a pro before you know it!"

The villain launched another snowball at us, and we both dodged.

"Are you ready, my trusty sidekick?" Strawberry Shades asked me.

Reaching into my backpack, I pulled out a black facemask and wrapped the strings around my ears. "Er, sidekick? When did that happen?"

He gave me that dazzling grin of his. "We must make haste, my sidekick! Justice must be served!"

He took off running toward the snow monster, and I let out a tired sigh. But even so, I felt giddy inside. My fingers prickled with excitement and energy as I bolted after him.

However, not everyone is like that. There are others with strong quirks who use their power to protect us. They are the ones who are fighting for peace every single day so we can live a normal life. They take their God-given powers and use it for good. They are the ones who run headfirst into danger regardless of the risks, the ones who stop evil sludge villains, the ones who catch thieves on the train, the ones who battle against an evil organization, the ones who inspire others to become better people, and the ones who reassure us that everything will be okay. They were our heroes; my heroes.

And for the first time in my life, I was finally here.

【**End of Book 1**】


End file.
